Protecting democracy, or political distraction? Inside efforts to reform the Electoral Count Act

Former President Donald Trump has openly admitted that he was pushing former Vice President Mike Pence to “overturn” the 2020 election.

“The vice president has never had the authority to overturn the election. The former president’s claim to the contrary is frankly baseless and incredulous,” Judge Michael Luttig says.

Trump’s admission has added urgency to efforts currently underway in Congress to amend the 136-year-old Electoral Count Act.

“Leaving this law unamended is like leaving a loaded gun on the table for Trump or any other future bad actor to pick up and use to disenfranchise millions of voters,” Mark Joseph Stern says.

Protecting democracy, or just a political distraction?

“No one should look at Electoral Count reform as just a trick or a trap or even necessarily a compromise. This is a legitimate voting rights issue that needs Congress’s attention.”

Today, On Point: Looking at the Electoral Count Act.

Guests

Mark Joseph Stern, reporter at Slate, covering courts and the law. Author of The Crucial Voting Rights Bill That Congress Can Actually Pass. (@mjs_DC)

Judge Michael Luttig, he served as a judge on the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from 1991 to 2006. He also advised Vice President Mike Pence on the 2020 vote certification, and is advising Republican senators now on potential ECA reform. (@judgeluttig)

Norman Eisen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the first Trump impeachment. (@NormEisen)

Also Featured

Sen. Angus King, senator from Maine. He co-drafted proposed reforms to the Electoral Count Act. (@SenAngusKing)

From The Reading List

Slate: “The Crucial Voting Rights Bill That Congress Can Actually Pass” — “Democrats’ year-long push to pass major voting rights legislation stalled out on Wednesday night when Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema allowed Republicans to filibuster the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”

Washington Post: “Fixing the Electoral Count Act is no substitute for real election reform” — “With the Senate finally scheduling action to address the national epidemic of voter suppression and election hijacking laws, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and others in his party have suddenly found an alternative election reform they are signaling they will consider instead.”

Election Law Blog: “‘The lawyer who helped Pence stand up to Trump is still concerned for democracy.’” — “‘Mr. Luttig, whom George W. Bush considered to become chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, found Mr. Eastman’s arguments preposterous and publicly said that Mr. Pence had no choice.'”

Wall Street Journal: “Congress Sowed the Seeds of Jan. 6 in 1887” — “Congress plans to establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. We already know one reason for that terrible event.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2022 NPR]