House passes bill barring Congress from interfering with electoral results

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo)

(Image credit: Tom Williams / Contributor/Getty Images)

published 22 September 2022

The House on Wednesday passed an electoral reform bill that would block attempts from presidents to use Congress to overrule election results, The Washington Post reports. It was the first time lawmakers have voted on "such an effort" since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, when a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to block the certification of President Biden's victory, the Post writes.

The Presidential Election Reform Act was co-written by Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). The bill identifies the Capitol incident as a reason to reform the existing Electoral Count Act of 1887 and "prevent other future unlawful efforts to overturn presidential elections," as well as "ensure future peaceful transfers of presidential power."

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The Presidential Election Reform Act clarifies that the vice president does not have a role in the validation process of a presidential election; they are a figurehead who oversees the counting of votes and cannot change the results. The act increases the threshold members of both chambers have to reach to object to a state's results, and clearly delineates the role governors play in the process. It also affirms that state legislatures cannot retroactively change election rules to change voting results, the Post reports.

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Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.

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