The Jan. 6 Committee has uncorked Details concerning Trump’s attempted Coup. Given how easy it was for Attorneys such as John Eastman to conjure up a Scheme to Overturn Elections with the thin veneer of Legality, it behooves the Bipartisan group of Senators working on Electoral Count Act (ECA) Reform 2022, to step up the pace.
The ECA Reforms that Negotiators have discussed, if in place in 2020, could have acted as a Tripwire, if Not a complete Barrier, to the efforts to Overturn the Election. Specifically, there are Four fixes that would have stopped Eastman and Trump from Exploiting the current Law.
First - Congress can explicitly state that the Vice President’s role is purely Ceremonial and has No Power to Reject, Return, or in any way Affect the Counting of Electoral Votes. This would have spared Mike Pence from Trump’s Dangerous ressure campaign.
Second - The ECA’s “Safe Harbor” Provision currently states that when States submit their Electoral Slates by a certain date, it is deemed “Conclusive.” A later date for the Safe Harbor would allow Court Challenges to conclude. In addition, the ECA should Clarify that Only the Slate of Electors submitted by the State Official designated to Certify the Election Results would Qualify, any “Alternative Slate” would be Invalid. This Clarification would have Cut-Off attempts in 2020 to encourage State Legislatures to submit Alternative Slates.
Third - The Electoral Count Act should specify that All States must use the Popular Vote in selecting Delegates. The Legislature could Not, Overturn the People’s Selection. The Provision allowing State Legislatures to Pick the Electors in case of a “failed” Election should be Limited to Extraordinary situations, such as a Devastating Matural Disaster or Terrorist Attack. That would Prevent the next John Eastman from using Unproven Claims of Fraud to declare that an Election had “Failed.”
Fourth - Congress should Increase the Number of Members needed to Raise an Objection to Electoral Votes from One Member in each Chamber, as the Law currently prescribes, to a Third or a Half of each Body. It should also Specify that Objections should be limited to Cases in which the Selected Candidate is Constitutionally Unqualified, they are Not yet 35 years old, or in which the Slate was Forged or obtained by Bribery or Extortion. If these Changes had been in place, a handful of Republicans would Not have been able to throw the Electoral Count into Disarray with baseless Claims of Fraud.
The additional Measures must also address the "Epidemic of Violence,” as the Brookings Institution’s Norm Eisen puts it, that Infected our Electoral system in 2020. The Violence culminated at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but Local Officials faced Threats of Violence against them and their Families throughout the Election season. This is Unacceptable. Just as Congress recently passed a Measure to increase Security for Supreme Court Justices, it must increase Funding to protect Election Workers and Officials.
Threatening, Extorting, Bribing, or Cajoling, Election Officials to “find” or “fix” Votes must be Strictly Prohibited. Likewise, Penalties must be Increased for attempting to Disrupt or Interfere with the Administration of an Election, or Preventing an Official from carrying out there Lawful Duties. Raising Objections to Election Results in Court, must be the Only means of addressing Complaints.
The harrowing Account of the Events surrounding Jan. 6 necessitates Strong Bipartisan Support for these Measures.
Let’s Not forget that while Congress has its Role, so does the Executive Branch. The Criminal Sentences handed down for the Participants in the Violent Insurrection on Jan. 6, should help deter Others from Storming the Capitol after Future Elections.
But if Trump, Eastman, and Others, at the heart of the Plot to Overthrow the Election do Not face Accountability for their Chicanery, they or Others will do it again.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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