You’d think that counting votes in a presidential election would be a simple thing.

But “presidential elections in the U.S. are complicated,” writes election law scholar Derek Muller, and voters don’t directly elect the president. One complicated element of that indirect vote is the Electoral Count Act, an 1887 law passed after a disputed election to streamline Congress’ process of counting and certifying who has won the presidency. In recent years, including the 2020 election, the act has shown its weaknesses – prominent among them is the ability of lawmakers to object for spurious and partisan reasons to vote counts.

These objections have undermined confidence in the outcome of presidential elections,” Muller writes. He walks readers through the basics of the Electoral Count Act and how it can be fixed, noting that such reforms lend themselves to bipartisanship. In the end, Muller says, with reforms to the Electoral Count Act, “Congress cannot prevent all mischief, but it can reduce the possibility of mischief in the future.”

Also today:

Naomi Schalit

Senior Editor, Politics + Society

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

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?

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