Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that he would support the Electoral Count Reform Act, which is looking to protect future elections. This will be done through changes to the 1887 Electoral Count Act.
McConnell’s support is important for the legislation led by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). The legislation is partly a response to the Capitol riot on Jan.6, 2021, which sought to stop the results of the presidential election from being certified.
McConnell said that he supports the legislation and that if no further changes are made he would be happy to vote in favor of it even now.
McConnell is in some ways directly opposing former President Trump by supporting the bill. Trump has called for Republicans to oppose the legislation. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) already voted against the bill’s House version.
The Electoral Count Reform Act would provide clarifications on the procedures outlined in the 1887 law, and it would also clarify the role of the vice president and other lawmakers in certifying the election.
Part of this includes noting that the role of vice president is “solely ministerial”. It would also make objecting to the state’s Electoral results harder, as it would require one-fifth of the chamber body to support the objection.
These changes will make it harder for the events following the 2020 election to be repeated. On Jan. 6 Trump insisted that the election had been stolen from him despite not having any evidence. Then a crowd of his supporters invaded the Capitol which caused a delay in the certification of the election.
