Bipartisan U.S. Senate group seeks Plan B on voting rights after Democratic bill's defeat

Following Democrats' twin defeats https://www.reuters.com/world/us/voting-rights-brawl-takes-center-stage-us-senate-2022-01-19 on a voting-rights bill, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is discussing the possibility of passing a scaled-back law focused on safeguarding election results and protecting elected officials from harassment. The group of lawmakers led by Republican Senator Susan Collins and including conservative Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are due to meet virtually on Friday to discuss reform of the 1887 Electoral Count Act (ECA), which allows members of Congress to dispute presidential election results.

Following Democrats' twin defeats https://www.reuters.com/world/us/voting-rights-brawl-takes-center-stage-us-senate-2022-01-19 on a voting-rights bill, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is discussing the possibility of passing a scaled-back law focused on safeguarding election results and protecting elected officials from harassment.

The group of lawmakers led by Republican Senator Susan Collins and including conservative Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are due to meet virtually on Friday to discuss reform of the 1887 Electoral Count Act (ECA), which allows members of Congress to dispute presidential election results. Staff representing members of the group were due to discuss options on Thursday.

The ECA provided the basis for an effort by former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies to overturn the presidential election on Jan. 6, when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted the certification of election results. Participants believe there could be broad bipartisan support for curbing Congress' ability to intervene.

"There's a good win there," Manchin told reporters late on Wednesday. "I mean, my goodness, that's what caused the insurrection." Manchin spoke after he and Sinema stymied an attempt by their fellow Democrats to overturn the Senate's 60-vote threshold for most legislation and pass sweeping voting rights legislation with a simple majority.

With the 100-seat Senate split 50-50, Democrats need all of their caucus members to support overturning the 60-vote rule known as the Senate filibuster. Manchin and Sinema voted against the effort after Republicans used the filibuster to stop Democrats from advancing voting-rights legislation for a fifth time. The Jan. 6 Capitol riot and a wave of new restrictive voting laws in Republican-led states spawned by Trump's false claims of a stolen 2020 election have raised concerns about the integrity of the U.S. election system.

Lawmakers and other elected officials, including Republicans who deny Trump's false claims about massive voter fraud in 2020, have also been targeted for harassment and removal from office. After the Democratic voting-rights effort failed on Wednesday, senators said there could be scope to meet the 60-vote threshold with more limited legislation aimed at curbing congressional intervention in presidential elections through ECA reform.

"The people who tried to overturn the last election focused on using that act in a way that would have subverted the will of the people. And so there's interest in clarifying the act," Republican Senator Mitt Romney, a member of the Collins group, told reporters. Time is running short for lawmakers to act. Campaigning is already under way ahead of the Nov. 8 elections when Republicans are favored to regain a majority in at least one chamber of Congress, and the first nominating contests take place in Texas on March 1.

Congress in the next month also needs to agree to continue to fund the government or see some federal functions partly shut down beginning Feb. 18. The group is also considering proposals to protect elected officials from harassment and unwarranted removal from office, address election security and improve election management, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that ECA reform is worth discussing https://www.reuters.com/world/us/top-senate-republican-signals-interest-narrow-approach-us-election-reform-2022-01-05 in comments that Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer later dismissed. McConnell is waiting to see what the discussions produce before weighing in, according to aides. He took a similar approach last year to bipartisan infrastructure talks, which produced a $1 trillion bill he ultimately supported.

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