WASHINGTON — Election legislation aimed at preventing another Jan. 6 insurrection attempt will have to wait until after this year’s midterm elections on Nov. 8 — but will get passed, House Democratic Conference Chairman Rep. Hakeem Jeffries pledged Thursday.
“It’s the highest of priorities,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters. “We’ve seen that free and fair elections, as a principle, have been under assault. The right to vote — under assault. The peaceful transfer of power — under assault. The rule of law — under assault.”
The legislation would clarify and expand parts of the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which, along with the Constitution, governs how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential winners. The changes in the certification process are in response to unsuccessful efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to exploit loopholes in the law to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden, and the violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters as Congress counted the votes.
