Hi,
The Republican Party just officially declared the January 6th insurrection
and the events leading up to it as "legitimate political discourse." Then,
the party formally condemned the two Republicans who serve on the
committee investigating the January 6th attack.^1
The Trump GOP's message is clear: white supremacist political violence is
normal and elections they lose don't count. Unless Congress takes action
to protect our democracy and our voting rights now, the far right is
likely to try to pull off another coup in the future. We can't let that
happen.
[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: Congress must reform the Electoral Count Act and
pass voting rights legislation to protect our democracy from Trump and far
right insurrectionists!
ADD YOUR NAME
Trump has spoken about his 2021 coup attempt with unprecedented candor in
recent weeks, plainly admitting his plan to have former Vice President
Mike Pence certify the election in his favor. That fraudulent plan
involved exploiting the Electoral Count Act — the obscure and outdated law
that governs how Congress confirms presidential election results.
Now that a bipartisan group of lawmakers is working to reform the
Electoral Count Act, Trump is doubling down to uphold the outdated law.
He's arguing that efforts to clarify the law to prevent future coup
attempts somehow demonstrate that the Electoral Count Act authorized his
own coup attempt last year.
"Trump's thought is this: Because one facet of Electoral Count Act reform
would clarify that the vice president has no role in counting electors,
this must mean Mike Pence did have the power to refuse to count them,"
Greg Sargent writes in the Washington Post.^2
Trump is wrong, and he isn't bothering to hide the ball. He has stated
outright that Pence should have "overturned the election."^3
Trump's plan to get GOP legislatures to override citizens' votes in at
least three states was far fetched and totally illegal, but the fact is
that Trump was getting increasing support from like-minded state
legislators to try to pull it off.^4 We need ECA reform now — before the
far-right tries for a repeat.
It's essential that the Select Committee on January 6th introduce strong
and clear legislation reforming the ECA, and that Congress pass it as soon
as possible, alongside the John Lewis Freedom to Vote Act. We can't risk
another attack on our democracy.
[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: Congress must reform the Electoral Count Act and
pass legislation protecting our right to vote as soon as possible!
Thanks for taking action,
Izzi and the team at Demand Progress
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
Sources:
1. New York Times, "GOP Declares Jan. 6 Attack 'Legitimate Political
Discourse,'" [ [link removed] ]February 4, 2022.
2. Washington Post, "As Trump rages, a plan to reform the Electoral Count
Act against a 2024 coup slowly advances," [ [link removed] ]February 2, 2022.
3. The Atlantic, "How Donald Trump Could Subvert the 2024 Election,"
[ [link removed] ]December 6, 2021.
4. CNN, "Trump lawyer's memo on six-step plan for Pence to overturn the
election," [ [link removed] ]September 21, 2021.
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