H.R. 8873, the “Presidential Election Reform Act,” would change the procedures for how presidential electoral votes are cast and counted to “prevent other future unlawful efforts to overturn Presidential elections and to ensure future peaceful transfers of Presidential power,” according to the bill. The bill would require the governor of each state to certify the state’s electors. It would also make the role of the presiding officer of the joint session count on January 6th (i.e., the vice president or, in absence thereof, the president pro tempore) simply a “ministerial” position having no discretionary power to “determine or otherwise resolve disputes concerning the proper list of electors for a State, the validity of electors for a State, or the votes of electors of a State.” Additionally, the bill raises the threshold for raising any objections to “at least one third of each House of Congress.” In a statement after voting against the bill, Representative Burgess Owens (R-Utah) said, “The Presidential Election Reform Act … tramples the constitutional duty of states to oversee elections, and continues the partisan charge to centralize power in Washington.”
The House passed H.R. 8873 on September 21, 2022 by a vote of 229 to 203 (Roll Call 449). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill undermines election integrity, infringes upon state sovereignty, and makes changes that are inconsistent with Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.
