While the Jan. 6th House Select Committee continues to get to the bottom of the totality of the first Capitol riot, a bipartisan group of Senators is trying to prevent a future one from happening. The group led by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) has introduced two bills aimed at strengthening the legislative processes former President Trump tried to target in his 2020 Presidential election plot, The Hill reports.
From what we gathered before and during the Jan. 6th testimony, Trump placed a lot of pressure on former Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election result. One of the bills would adjust the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which sets the process Congress uses to authenticate the Electoral College votes submitted by states. Many representatives feel it’s too vague, and that’s why someone like Trump was able to attack it. The new rules would the vice president only have a “ceremonial role” in overseeing the certification of the electoral results.
The proposal also includes checks intended to promote an orderly transition of presidential power by outlining guidelines for when eligible candidates can receive federal resources for an administrative change in office. Before President Biden took office, the Trump administration delayed to transition where Biden’s team could not get essential information or install workers at agencies.
The number of House and Senate members would be increased, making it harder for Congress to object to one way to overturn election results. A second bill would also double federal penalties for those who threaten or intimidate election workers, poll watchers, voters, or candidates.
“We have developed legislation that establishes clear guidelines for our system of certifying and counting electoral votes for president and vice president. We urge our colleagues in both parties to support these simple, commonsense reforms,” they said in a joint statement.
These bills address some legislative issues in trying to change an election result. However, that’s a symptom of the overall problem. The violence at the Capitol was a coordinated effort by an administration that welcomed help from a voting group inhabited by militant and white supremacist groups. Until that is recognized as an ongoing scrouge hurting the country, a legislative solution will only serve as a bandaid.