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

Since the U.S. Congress first met in 1789, it has been a key check on the power of the president. Allyn Cox, via Architect of the Capitol

January 16, 2025

How constitutional guardrails have always contained presidential ambitions

Victor Menaldo, University of Washington

The mechanics of upending American democracy would entail surmounting a thick tangle of constitutional, bureaucratic, legal and political obstacles.

A sign at a rally as the Board of State Canvassers voted on Nov. 23, 2020, to certify the 2020 election in Okemos, Mich. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

September 4, 2024

No, local election officials can’t block certification of results – there are plenty of legal safeguards

Derek T. Muller, University of Notre Dame

Concerns are mounting that some election officials might subvert the results of the 2024 presidential election by refusing to certify results. An election law expert says the law now prevents that.

A person holds an electoral certificate from the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

August 27, 2024

An unseen problem with the Electoral College – it tells bad guys where to target their efforts

Barry C. Burden, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Electoral College system puts most of the attention on just a few states – and paints a target on those states’ voting systems.

Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, center, of the North Carolina Supreme Court swears in state presidential electors to cast their votes on Dec. 14, 2020. AP Photo/Gerry Broome

June 10, 2024

2020’s ‘fake elector’ schemes will be harder to try in 2024 – but not impossible

Derek T. Muller, University of Notre Dame

In the 2020 presidential election, groups of self-appointed electors in seven states met to cast votes for Donald Trump, even though Joe Biden had carried their states. Could that happen again?

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

Derek T. Muller, University of Iowa

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.

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