Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming co-sponsored the legislation with Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren. Both members are on the House Select Committee to investigate the riots at the US Capitol on January 6. The 1887 Election Counting Act came into focus on January 6 of last year after former President Donald Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Pence subsequently rejected. Among other provisions, the legislation specifically says that the power of the president of the Senate—the official role of the vice president of the United States—or whoever presides like the president pro tempore “shall be ministerial.” “Except for the procedures described in this section, the president shall have no authority to determine or otherwise resolve disputes concerning the proper list of electors for a state, the validity of electors for a state, or the electoral votes of a state,” the legislation states. “Except as provided in this article, the presiding officer shall not order any delay in the counting or preside over any period of delay in the counting of the electoral votes.” But only 11 Republicans voted to pass the law. Voting with Ms. Cheney were Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Chris Jacobs of New York, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, John Katko of New York, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Tom Rice from South Carolina and Fred Upton from California. to pass the legislation. All but one voted to impeach Trump for his actions on Jan. 6, while Jacobs voted against the results of the 2020 presidential election. But none of them will return to Congress in January. Mr. Kinzinger, Mr. Jacobs, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Upton and Mr. Katko have all decided not to run for re-election. Meanwhile, Ms Cheney, Mr Meijer, Ms Herrera Beutler and Mr Rice all lost their primaries. The Senate worked on its own version of the legislation, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. But Congress is on a time crunch, as many members will likely go home during the October campaign recess and return only briefly after the election to handle unfinished business.
