In the News

The urgent need to update the Electoral Count Act

Patrick Gaspard and Trevor Potter urge Congress to update the Electoral Count Act and bring it into the 21st century.

“I was slipping in people’s blood.” That was the testimony of Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who defended the U.S. Capitol against a harrowing attack on our country on Jan. 6, 2021. In what she described as a “war scene,” Edwards sustained multiple injuries after being tear gassed, pepper sprayed and knocked unconscious. She endured this in defense of our democracy, on the day that Congress gathered to finalize the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Now, it’s time for members of Congress to do their part — to “support and defend” our system of constitutional democracy, as their oaths of office demand. The recent hearings on the Jan. 6 attack make clear that our nation faces a truly unprecedented and ongoing threat of election sabotage. The question is whether members of Congress are willing to act with the sense of urgency that this moment requires — whether they have truly taken to heart the words of retired Judge J. Michael Luttig, that “our democracy today is on a knife’s edge.”

The above excerpt was originally published in The Hill. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Patrick Gaspard

President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for American Progress

@patrickgaspard

Trevor Potter

President, Campaign Legal Center

Department

Executive

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