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Senator Chuck Grassley is one of 10 Republican Senators listed as a cosponsor in the U.S. Senate. The bill seeks to reform the Electoral County Act of 1887. Perhaps the biggest change created by the bill will be increasing the threshold to lodge an objection to electors. Currently, a single member of both chambers is all that is required to object to an elector or slate of electors.

This bill will raise that threshold to one-fifth of the duly chosen and sworn members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“This change would reduce the likelihood of frivolous objections by ensuring that objections are broadly supported,” the one-pager on the bill states.

Senators Susan Collins and Joe Manchin, who have led the effort, said the bill is backed by “election law experts” and organizations across the ideological spectrum.

Grassley joins Republicans Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Shelley Moore Capito, Todd Young, Ben Sasse, and Lindsey Graham as GOP cosponsors.

According to a document promoting the bill, it will “ensure that electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s public vote for President.”

“It would replace ambiguous provisions of the 19th-century law with clear procedures that maintain appropriate state and federal roles in selecting the President and Vice President of the United States as set forth in the U.S. Constitution,” it states.

Reforms hope to ensure Congress can identify a single, conclusive slate of electors from each state. The governor of each state is identified as being responsible for submitting the certificate of ascertainment identifying the state’s electors, unless otherwise specified in the laws or constitution of a state.

The bill states the Vice President’s role at the joint meeting of Congress is “solely ministerial” and they do not have the power to solely determine, accept, reject or otherwise adjudicate disputes over electors.

1 COMMENT

  1. This bill is another disappointing stance by Sen. Grassley and some others GOP Senators. There is something wrong, in my opinion, when GOP senators agree with the Democrats on changing any election laws. The American people want election integrity. We do not want more laws that will make it easier for cheaters to cheat. If any member of the Legislature sees a need to contest certification of an election, our representatives owe it to the citizens to investigate the irregularities. And, if needed, de-certify. Grassley’s stance would make it tougher to contest an election due to needing several legislators to agree that the election results need to be examined as in the case of suspected cheating.

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