McConnell backs post-Jan. 6 revisions to elections law
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he will “proudly support” legislation to overhaul rules for certifying presidential elections, bolstering a bipartisan effort to revise a 19th century law and avoid another Jan. 6 insurrection.
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.
McConnell made the remarks just before a committee vote on the legislation. He said he would back the bill as long as a bipartisan agreement on the language is not significantly changed.
“Congress’ process for counting the presidential electors’ votes was written 135 years ago," McConnell said. “The chaos that came to a head on Jan. 6 of last year certainly underscored the need for an update.”
McConnell noted that in addition to Republican objections to Biden’s win in 2021, Democrats objected the last three times that Republicans won presidential elections. The legislation would make it harder for Congress to sustain those objections.
The GOP leader’s comments give the legislation a major boost as the bipartisan group pushes to pass the bill before the end of the year and ahead of the next election cycle. Trump is still pushing false claims of election fraud and saying he won the election as he considers another run in 2024.
The House has already passed a more expansive bill overhauling the electoral rules, but it has far less Republican support. While the House bill received a handful of GOP votes, the Senate...