With both a House version already passed by that chamber and a Senate bill advancing with strong bipartisan support, it appears likely (if by no means guaranteed) that Congress will adopt some kind of Electoral Count Act reform by the end of the year. With that, the rules governing presidential elections would see their biggest overhaul since the original ECA was adopted in 1887.
At Cato, we have written extensively on the proper constitutional interpretations and policy decisions involved in getting ECA reform right. We’ve been glad to see some of our more specific suggestions incorporated into the bills, and that the overall product so far reflects broad consensus among a cross‐ideological range of experts. In an age of dysfunction and polarization, it’s been refreshing to see most members of Congress in both parties and both chambers approach the issue in a thoughtful, scholarship‐driven, good faith approach to getting it right.
Stepping back from all those nuanced technical issues to take in the big picture, ECA reform is more than just an overdue sprucing‐up of some obscure rules of procedure. It represents a substantive commitment to reducing the risks of political violence and future constitutional crises.
Reforming the ECA does not, in and of itself, stop the spread of baseless conspiracy theories or prevent a losing party from rejecting the legitimacy of its defeat. That is a broader political problem to be addressed in the marketplace of ideas. What ECA reform...
Kolkata: Kolkata Police has been grappling with a fresh challenge since the past week — controlling fake news. While it initially started with fake circulars, beginning with "restrictions" on cert...