A pair of House lawmakers have introduced a bill aimed at preventing stolen elections in the wake of the January 6 Capitol attack.
New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer and Michigan Republican Fred Upton are co-sponsoring the House legislation, known as the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act.
Gottheimer said the legislation will "preserve the integrity of our presidential elections and prevent any attempts to undermine them."
The bill contains two main components. The first modernizes the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and ensures that the electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state's vote for President.
"Americans want certainty in elections, not vested parties' interpretations of laws from the 1800s," Upton said in a statement.
The second component of the bill addresses the orderly transfer of power by providing clear guidelines for when eligible candidates for President and Vice President may receive federal resources to support their transition into office.
Both bills are aimed at preventing future coup attempts by clarifying the limited role of the vice president in counting Electoral College votes, raising the threshold for members of Congress to object to states' presidential electors, beefing up laws around certifying elections for the rightful winner and promoting an orderly presidential transition.
"By clearly specifying the procedures for counting electoral votes, this bill provides the clarity voters need to know their vote for president matters. Further it ensures the gamesmanship of political parties will not be a factor in the longstanding presidential selection process," Upton said.
The bipartisan legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Maine Republican Susan Collins and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, among others.
"We are very pleased that Representatives Gottheimer and Upton have introduced the House companion to our legislation that would correct the flaws in the archaic and ambiguous Electoral Count Act of 1887," the senators said in a joint statement. "Their leadership helps build momentum to pass these significant and much-needed reforms."
The legislation comes months after a bipartisan group of 16 senators introduced a bill in July to reform and modernize the Electoral Count Act.
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