The Senate's Election Reform Bill Does Just Enough

When senators from both parties took up the cause of reforming the archaic law governing counts of presidential electoral votes, the effort looked worthwhile but full of potential pitfalls. The bipartisan group has now released its proposal, and the good news is that the main pitfalls have been avoided.

Passed in 1887, the Electoral Count Act was the congressional response to the chaos following the contested election of 1876 between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden. Its vague and confusing provisions contributed, however, to the turmoil after the 2020 election. President Donald Trump exploited them in his effort to reverse his defeat after the votes had been cast. The reform under consideration would reduce the risk that future candidates will take similar steps, or succeed in them.