A bipartisan group of senators, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), is working to close a loophole in the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and could have a plan as early as Friday. The ECA is a law that governs how Congress counts electoral votes following a presidential election.
Following the Capitol riots, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to close a loophole in it to make sure the vice president cannot reject state certified results when Congress meets to count the votes.
“We need to prevent that from happening again,” Collins said on ABC This Week. “I think it is really important that we do this reform.”
Collins said the group should focus on two priorities. The first would be to “make very clear that the vice president’s role is simply ministerial, that he has no ability to halt the count.” Her second priority is to “raise the threshold from one House member, one senator, for triggering a challenge to a vote count submitted by the states.”