U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on July 20 joined a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers to introduce two bills aimed at ensuring that the electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s vote for president.
“We have before us an historic opportunity to modernize and strengthen our system of certifying and counting the electoral votes for president and vice president,” Sen. Collins said. “I very much hope that Congress will seize this opportunity to enact these sensible and much-needed reforms before the end of this Congress.”
“Election security and integrity are issues that we can all get behind. The events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, must never happen again,” said Sen. Murkowski. “I’m proud to join a bipartisan group of my colleagues on reforms to enhance election security and integrity, in order to ensure our elections are fair and safe.”
Specifically, the two newly introduced proposals include provisions to reform and modernize the Electoral Count Act of 1887, according to Sen. Murkowski’s staff.
“Our legislation gives more clarity to states and Congress on the electoral count process; clarifies that when the successful candidate for president and vice president is not clear, that all candidates have equal access to information important to an orderly transition of power; provides improvements to cybersecurity testing for voting systems; and enhances penalties for individuals who threaten election workers — just to name a few,” said Sen. Murkowski. “There is nothing more fundamental than the right to vote, so we are taking necessary steps to bolster the public’s trust in our elections.”
The first bill, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, S. 4573, is sponsored by Sen. Collins and 15 original cosponsors, including Sen. Murkowski and U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Todd Young (R-IN), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Joe Manchin (D-WV).
If enacted, S. 4573 would reform the Electoral Count Act and amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to provide clear guidelines for when and to whom resources are provided by the administrator of General Services for use in connection with the preparations for the assumption of official duties as president or vice president, according to the congressional record bill summary.
The second bill, the Enhanced Election Security and Protection Act, S. 4574, is also sponsored by Sen. Collins and 11 original cosponsors, including Sens. Murkowski, Portman, Tillis, Romney, and Manchin.
S. 4574 would increase penalties for crimes against federally protected activities related to voting and the conduct of elections. For instance, one provision would double the penalty under federal law for individuals who threaten or intimidate election officials, poll watchers, voters, or candidates, and would raise the penalty to no more than two years in prison.
Additional provisions in S. 4574 would improve the handling of election mail by the U.S. Postal Service and provide guidance to states to improve their mail-in ballot processes where permitted under state law; reauthorize the Election Assistance Commission for five years and require it to conduct cybersecurity testing as part of its testing and certification process for voting systems; and clarify that current law requires electronic election records be preserved, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
Sens. Collins and Manchin led their colleagues in negotiations that lasted for several months to develop these bills, according to their offices, and received input from state election officials, as well as from a diverse group of election experts and legal scholars, including the American Law Institute. U.S, Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ranking Member Roy Blunt (R-MO) also contributed to the negotiations.
The bills are supported by the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Presidential Reform Project.