Cass Sunstein on How the Electoral Count Reform Act Protects the Integrity of the Presidential Election

This is from the WSJ, which is paywalled. Here’s an excerpt:

The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022, which amended the Electoral Count Act of 1887 … greatly reduces the risk of uncertainty and chaos after Americans vote…

The Electoral Count Reform Act goes even further, regularizing the process of choosing the next president to prevent election shenanigans. Rules for certifying electors’ names? The act establishes them. Rules for counting the votes? Check. Rules for who counts, how to deal with objections in the House and Senate on the day the vote is counted, and answers to a host of other questions? Check, check and check….

The same can be said in support of the Electoral Count Reform Act’s other provisions. They retain the primacy of the states; in fact, they insist on it. On that score, they’re an improvement over the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which wasn’t nearly as protective of states’ prerogatives. The 2022 act is an effort to regularize and carry into execution processes that the original Constitution and the 12th Amendment sketch in broad and general terms….

It’s too early to say whether a train wreck is coming. But the Electoral Count Reform Act is well-designed to reduce that risk—and enacting it was well within Congress’s constitutional authority.

Share this: