THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, SEpTEmbER 23, 2022 Page 13 Assistant Speaker Clark votes to strengthen and protect democracy with Presidential Election Reform Act A Legislation would reform Electoral Count Act to ensure Congress counts electoral votes as required by the Constitution. • Ensure that presidential ssistant Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Katherine Clark (5th District of Massachusetts) joined House Democrats in voting for the Presidential Election Reform Act (PERA) – legislation to reform the 1887 Electoral Count Act that outlines how electoral votes are cast and counted following presidential elections. PERA is urgently needed to affi rm and clarify the intent of the Electoral Count Act following the January 6, 2021, insurrection when former President Donald Trump and “MAGA” Republicans attempted to subvert the American electorate by pressuring Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the 2020 presidential election results. “January 6th was one of the darkest days in our history. We now know in – great detail – how the former president and his cronies were attempting to use the electoral certifi cation process to undermine our democracy,” said Assistant Speaker Clark. “They tried to delegitimize a free and fair election with their lies, subvert the results certifi ed and sent by the states, and pressure a Vice President into rejecting his Constitutional responsibilities – all of which erupted in violence, hate, and bloodshed in our Capitol. “Today, we voted for the Presidential Election Reform Act to ensure that the rule of law and the will of the people will always prevail.” In January, the Committee on House Administration released a Committee Staff Report on the Electoral Count Act of 1887 (ECA) that examined the ECA and argued it badly needed reform. Specifi cally, PERA would: • Enact new counting rules: PERA enacts clear, comprehensive counting rules that make the following important reforms: reaffirms that the vice president’s role at the count is ministerial; raises the objection threshold to onethird (up from a single member); lists the explicit Constitutional grounds upon which members may object to a state’s electoral votes. • Ensure that Congress receives a single, accurate certifi cate from each state: PERA sets a deadline by which governors must transmit their states’ electoral appointments elections are only extended for genuine catastrophic events: PERA amends the Electoral Count Act’s “failed elections” provision to ensure that a state’s presidential election can only be extended if a federal judge agrees that the state has experienced a genuine catastrophic event affecting enough ballots to swing the outcome of the state’s election. • Prohibit election offi cials from refusing to certify presidential elections: The Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the United States Constitution prohibit election offi cials from willfully refusing to count ballots or certify elections in accordance with state election laws that exist on Election Day. PERA allows presidential candidates to seek federal injunctive relief against election offi cials to enforce these constitutional requirements in presidential elections if necessary. Katherine Clark State Senator to Congress. If a governor fails to do so, or if he or she transmits inaccurate certifi cates of appointment, PERA authorizes candidates to obtain a federal court order requiring the governor to transmit the states’ lawful certifi cate. If the governor refuses, then the court shall order another appropriate state offi cial to issue the lawful certifi cate. The governor’s certifi cate (or the certifi cate of the other state offi cial, as the case may be) shall be conclusive for Congress’ purposes at the electoral count. • Require states to select electors pursuant to state laws as they exist prior to Election Day: PERA requires states to conduct presidential elections under state laws as they exist prior to Election Day, which will clarify that there is no legal authority allowing state legislatures to “take back” their electoral appointment power after the election if they do not like the results.
14 Publizr Home