Rep. Aguilar Passes Key Legislation to Protect Peaceful Transfer of Power
WASHINGTON, DC — This week, Rep. Pete Aguilar helped pass the bipartisan Presidential Election Reform Act (H.R. 8873), which makes important reforms to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, a law which supporters of former President Donald Trump sought to take advantage of in their attempt to thwart a peaceful transfer of power.
“These bipartisan reforms make important changes to the laws that govern the cornerstone of our democracy,” said Rep. Aguilar. “This legislation aims to prevent an attack like the one we saw on January 6th from ever happening again. As a member of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, our vote sends a message to the American people that we can work together to strengthen our democracy.”
The Presidential Election Reform Act is informed by months of investigation, thousands of pages of testimony and eight public hearings held by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol. The legislation will reform the Electoral Count Act to ensure that Congress counts the votes as required by the Constitution. It enacts clear, concise and comprehensive counting rules that affirm the Vice President’s role on January 6th is ministerial, increases the objection threshold to one-third of each house and states explicit Constitutional grounds upon which Members can object to a state’s electoral votes.
This bill also sets a deadline for governors to send their states’ electoral appointments to Congress, clarifies that states have no legal authority to “take back” their electoral appointment power after an election if they do not like the results and adds a provision to ensure that a state’s election can only be extended if a federal judge agrees the state has experienced a catastrophic event affecting enough ballots to alter the outcome of the state’s election.
Rep. Aguilar spoke on the House floor encouraging members to protect the rule of law and strengthen our constitution.
Rep. Aguilar serves as Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on House Administration and the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol.
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