Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., will cosponsor a bipartisan bill to reform how Electoral College votes are certified, adding more Republican weight to the push to avoid a repeat of the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Toomey will join 10 other Republicans sponsoring or cosponsoring the Electoral Count Reform Act, giving it enough formal GOP support to clear a filibuster if at least 49 of the chamber’s 50 Democrats also support the plan. Other Republicans have also expressed openness to the plan, potentially giving it even more room to maneuver through the Senate.
His support for the legislation, reported first by The Philadelphia Inquirer, comes after Pennsylvania was one of two states formally targeted by dozens of congressional Republicans on Jan. 6, 2021, as they attempted to dismiss its 20 electoral votes and the will of its voters. Toomey, who supported nearly all of former President Donald Trump’s policies and voted for him twice, strongly opposed attempts to throw out Pennsylvania’s election results as Trump fueled a riot at the Capitol.
