The House recently passed the Presidential Election Reform Act, a set of electoral reforms to protect elections from lawmakers’ interference. The legislation would overhaul the 1887 Electoral Count Act (ECA), an archaic and outdated law that Donald Trump attempted to exploit to stay in the White House after losing the 2020 election.

Jan. 6 committee members Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Liz Cheney introduced the bill to regulate the counting of electoral votes. It also:

• Makes it more difficult for lawmakers to stop certification with illegitimate or invalid objections;

• Clarifies the vice president’s ceremonial role in certifying elections;

• Increases the number of lawmakers each chamber needs to object to the certification of electors from one member to one-third of the body;

• Makes explicit the role governors play in the electoral process and more.

“If your aim is to prevent future efforts to steal elections, I would respectfully suggest that conservatives should support this bill. If, instead, your aim is to leave open the door for elections to be stolen in the future, you might decide not to support this or any other bill to address the Electoral Count Act,” Cheney said.

The stakes to fix the ECA could not be higher. Donald Trump and his MAGA allies came close to overthrowing our democracy on January 6 and will try again if we don't stop them.

The Senate is poised to vote on a similar bill to reform the ECA. If we hope to keep our democracy, we must make our election procedures clear and reform the ECA.