Electoral Count Act

December 23, 2022
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In December 2022, Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) as part of omnibus appropriations legislation. On this page, we have information about the ECA, answers to frequently asked questions about reforming it, and important public statements about this issue.

The Electoral Count Act (ECA) governs the process of casting and counting Electoral College votes for president and vice president. The statute sets the timeline for states to appoint presidential electors in November and for electors to cast their votes in December, and describes the process that Congress should follow when it counts the states’ electoral votes in January. As the nation learned in January 2021, the statute was badly in need of an update. It included antiquated and ambiguous language, and failed to offer clear guidance on key aspects of the process of counting electoral votes and resolving related disputes — weaknesses that rendered the statute open to misunderstanding or exploitation, and risked the peaceful transitions of power that have been a hallmark of our democracy.

Learn more about the Electoral Count Act

Overview

On December 23, 2022, Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act as part of omnibus appropriations legislation. The ECRA provides critically important reforms to the ECA. The bill clarifies the vice president’s limited role in the counting of electoral votes, protects the will of the voters by better ensuring that lawful state-level determinations of election results are respected by Congress (including by raising the threshold for members of Congress to make objections), and establishes guardrails against state actors who try to disregard election results. In particular, the legislation requires states to appoint electors on Election Day except in narrow and extraordinary circumstances, such as a major natural disaster, and requires Congress to count electoral votes that the courts have determined comply with state and federal law.

In a separate effort, the U.S. House passed the Presidential Election Reform Act (PERA) in September of 2022 by a vote of 229-203. The bill built on the recommendations of an extensive staff report issued by the House Administration Committee in January and had a general framework that is similar to the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA).

For more information, please contact Genevieve Nadeau, genevieve.nadeau@protect dem ocracy.org.

Protect Democracy’s Statement on the Passage of the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA)

Understanding the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA)

The newly enacted Electoral Count Act reform was originally introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators in July 2022 as the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA). The ECRA, with amendments, was approved by the Senate Rules Committee on September 27, 2022. 39 senators cosponsored the ECRA, including 23 Democrats and 16 Republicans. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are among the cosponsors. The ECRA language was included in the omnibus appropriations bill that passed both houses of Congress in December of 2022.

Read an explainer on the Senate’s Electoral Count Reform Act here.

(Note: The ECRA is Title I of a broader bill, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 (S. 4573). Click here to read a summary of Title II, the Presidential Transition Improvement Act, which updates the rules around transition resources for an incoming President and Vice President.)

FAQs about the ECA

Expert and political support for ECA reform

Public polling in support of reforming the ECA

Here’s what ECA reform should look like (April 2022)

Watch experts assess the Electoral Count Reform Act (July 2022)