Bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing attempts to steal elections and another attack on the Capitol is sitting on the shelf, and as the clock ticks on the current Democratic-controlled Congress it remains unclear when a vote will take place, or what the proposals will ultimately look like.
“It’s something we’d like to get done. And we’re going to try to figure out the best way to get it done,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
There’s an urgency to act because Democrats — and some Republicans — worry that a possible GOP-controlled House, wary of triggering former President Donald Trump’s ire, would ignore the issue next year. But in the Senate, the growing expectation is that a vote will be punted into the lame duck session between the Nov. 8 midterm election and when the new Congress is seated on Jan. 3.
“I hope there’s going to be a vote soon,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a member of the bipartisan group that developed the bills.
The momentum is there, and it has generated optimism. As with most pursuits in the current Congress, the key question is how far Republicans are willing to go, as their support is needed to gain 60 votes to defeat a guaranteed filibuster.
“Anything we can do to make sure that there’s less confusion, less controversy associated with our election processes would be helpful,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a close ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has praised the effort. “I have a lot of confidence in Sen. [Susan] Collins and the process they’ve gone through, and I’m favorably inclined, but I have not read it yet,”Cornyn said.
One reason for the delay is the calendar. Congress is racing to avert a government shutdown before Sept. 30, when the current fiscal year ends. That’s when leaders of both parties expect to adjourn so members can go home and campaign in their districts. And Schumer has also guaranteed a vote on legislation to protect same-sex marriage, which could further eat up time and cause a contentious debate.
The second reason is that the proposals aren’t ready for prime time. Senate Rules Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., recently held a hearing and indicated she wants changes, which are still being negotiated. Her committee is likely to mark up the bills before a full Senate vote.
“We must update the antiquated Electoral Count Act to ensure that electoral votes for president accurately reflect the election results in each state and to improve the process for counting electoral votes in Congress,” Klobuchar told NBC News in a statement. “Last month, Senator [Roy] Blunt and I held a very constructive, bipartisan hearing in the Rules Committee on the need for reform where we heard consensus that there are some improvements that could further strengthen the bill. I am working with Senator Blunt and the bipartisan group to reach an agreement on implementing those changes and continuing to advance this legislation.”
And any proposal would need support from the House to become law, but the Jan. 6 select committee has yet to wrap up its investigation and offer legislative recommendations of its own.
That leaves the lame duck session. The Senate working group, led by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., broke the bills into two because one of them was seen as more likely to gain the requisite Republican support to pass.