Electoral Count Act – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., center, and Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, right, take cover as protesters disrupt the joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

December 23, 2022

Congress passes legislation that will close off presidential election mischief and help avoid another Jan. 6

Weaknesses in the law governing how elections are run and votes counted in Congress led to the Jan. 6 insurrection. An election law scholar analyzes legislation just passed to fix those problems.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is seen presiding over the counting of the votes on Jan. 6, 2021, during a hearing of the House January 6 committee in Washington, D.C., on June 16, 2022. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

June 30, 2022

Jan. 6 hearings highlight problems with certification of presidential elections and potential ways to fix them

Derek T. Muller, University of Iowa

The attempt by Donald Trump’s supporters to reverse the 2020 presidential election results shows the need to update the nation’s landmark law for counting presidential votes.

Two political conservatives, Greg Jacob, former counsel to Vice President Mike Pence, and Michael Luttig, a retired judge who was an adviser to Pence, testified to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack . AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

June 17, 2022

Jan. 6 committee hearings show what went right, not just what went wrong

Jennifer Selin, Wayne State University

Coverage of the House Jan. 6 hearings focuses on what went wrong that led up to Trump supporters’ laying siege to the US Capitol. A government scholar looks at what went right, both then and now.

Vice President Mike Pence reads the final electoral vote counts declaring Joe Biden the next U.S. president during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

January 20, 2022

The Electoral Count Act of 1887 is showing its age – here’s how to help Congress certify a presidential election with more certainty

Derek T. Muller, University of Iowa

Concerned about problems in counting Electoral College votes that determine the next president, lawmakers are considering changes to the Electoral Count Act. What is the act, and what’s wrong with it?

Vice President Mike Pence says he ‘welcomes’ objections to Biden’s Electoral College win, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats reject any such effort. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

January 5, 2021

Why Trump’s Senate supporters can’t overturn Electoral College results they don’t like – here’s how the law actually works

Donald Brand, College of the Holy Cross

The 1887 Electoral Count Act spells out the process for Congress to convene and review election results on Jan. 6, and it requires both the House and Senate to uphold any challenges to Biden’s win.

What will judges do? And when will they do it? Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

October 30, 2020

Why there’s so much legal uncertainty about resolving a disputed presidential election

Richard Pildes, New York University

Federal election law is riddled with uncertainties. And that’s not a good situation for the country if it finds itself in the middle of a contested election.

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