The Electoral Count Reform Act could help prevent another January 6, and safeguard our democracy.

The coup attempt was the final step of a carefully planned plot to exploit a crucial weakness in the way we elect our presidents. In accordance with the 1887 Electoral Count Act, the ceremonial ballot count on January 6 had played out every four years with almost tedious predictability. For more than 140 years, the ballots were cast by appointed electors, certified in the states, sent to a joint session of Congress, then counted in a ritual presided over by the vice president. Clearly a forgone conclusion, the process barely figured as a footnote in previous presidential elections. Apparently in the entire history of the nation, it had not occurred to a single losing candidate that the Electoral Count Act should be exploited for an unlawful takeover – until Donald Trump.

He and his motley legal team came up with a bizarre scheme involving their own alternate slates of state electors, who would draw up phony ballots for Trump. The Trump team pressured Republican legislators to officially sanction the fake electors and their fake votes under the fake story that our national elections were rife with irregularities and corruption. Crucially, this story would only be told about the presidential race and only in the key swing states that together would tilt the electoral vote count in Trump’s favor.

As far-fetched as this scheme was, the co-conspirators came dangerously close to success. That is why the Senate’s Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 and its companion in the House are necessary.

Yes, the bill ignores some fundamental flaws of the Electoral College, including how it deeply distorts the will of the American people. However, it does address the major weaknesses that the leaders of January 6 were trying to exploit. It requires that states choose electors according to the laws that existed before Election Day. It asserts that states can only send one slate of electors to Congress. It clarifies that the vice president has only a “ministerial” role in the counting. It raises the bar for objections from only one member in each chamber of Congress to one-fifth of all members in both the House and Senate. If a state tries to subvert the process, the dispute is sent to a panel of federal judges, and candidates can appeal their decision to the Supreme Court on an expedited basis.

Yet, all of these rules do not truly safeguard our democracy – there is much more to be done. Presidential elections must be decided by popular majorities, but even that will not be enough. Voters of both parties need to hold their leaders accountable, supporting only those who are honorable in victory and in defeat.

For all those times where we used to be able to rely on common sense, honor and decency to guide peaceful transitions of power, the Electoral Count Reform Act will make the count of electoral votes in Congress routine affairs again.

VINZ KOLLER is a political scientist based in Carmel who advises federal and state agencies. He has long been active in politics, working on national and local campaigns. He’s been a member of the Electoral College three times for California’s 20th Congressional District.