A pair of centrist House lawmakers on Wednesday is rolling out a bill aimed at preventing stolen elections in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack, mirroring bipartisan legislation in the Senate, NBC News has learned.
Moderate Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., are co-sponsoring the House legislation, known as the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, which would overhaul the antiquated 1887 Electoral Count Act.
They are introducing the bill now to give a boost of momentum to the Senate effort, led by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, with timing running short in this Congress.
Both bills are aimed at preventing future coup attempts by clarifying the limited role of the vice president in counting Electoral College votes, raising the threshold for members of Congress to object to states’ presidential electors, beefing up laws around certifying elections for the rightful winner and promoting an orderly presidential transition.
The bipartisan House duo is also trying to get out in front of a rival election-reform bill by two Jan. 6 committee members, Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., the House Administration Committee chair who is close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That rival bill is expected to be unveiled this week and be broader than the Gottheimer-Upton bill.
Separately, the Jan. 6 committee is expected to unveil its own set of legislative recommendations this fall to ensure an attempt to overturn a U.S. election, like what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, never happens again.