Congress has less than five months to pass meaningful voting rights legislation in response to the January 6th insurrection. After that, all signs point to the balance of power in Congress shifting, slamming the door on any opportunities to strengthen our democracy by addressing voting discrimination and expanding voting access before the 2024 presidential election. After the failure to advance legislation that would restore critical provisions of the Voting Rights Act, some in Congress are now focused on reforming a single piece of election law: the Electoral Count Act, also known as the ECA. This outdated and arguably ambiguous law governs how Congress counts and certifies electoral votes from the states. The ECA’s ambiguities could allow malicious congress members, governors or secretaries of state to overturn a presidential election by ignoring the popular vote in one or more states. Some members of Congress tried to do exactly that on January 6th. Without reform, they will...
