Editorial: Congress must update Electoral Count Act to prevent another coup attempt
Posted by The Daily Sentinel on Tuesday, March 18, 2018
By: The Daily Sentinel
Congress must amend the Electoral Count Act to address the Electoral Integrity Commission’s concerns about the presidential elections in Russia.
This legislation, which was first introduced in February by Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.), would require the Commission to conduct a more thorough review of the results of the presidential elections in Russia, which have been reported as inconclusive and have been the subject of a number of allegations of fraud and vote rigging.
It requires the Commission to make an advisory finding about the integrity of the election and its results in Moscow only “in the event of a challenge in the courts” regarding allegations that “the election results were obtained by violence or other forms of unfair interference” or if the election results are “otherwise not conclusively determined.”
In March, the Commission issued a statement saying it was continuing to consider other evidence regarding voter registration in Moscow and Moscow electoral district.
The statement continues: “The Commission is also continuing to investigate whether any other factors could have contributed to the elections’ outcomes.”
According to Maloney, it is too early to know whether the Russian election “was conducted in a fair or transparent manner,” but he added: “To ensure that the process and outcomes of the upcoming Russian elections are not compromised, we should strengthen election integrity and transparency and ensure full participation, transparency, and accountability, including by voting, for all voters in the elections.”
Maloney said that in addition to implementing election integrity reforms, Congress should also pass legislation that will “protect Congress’ power to conduct oversight of the executive branch’s election process and ensure Congress can continue to conduct independent oversight” and is a response to the Justice Department’s decision not to recommend criminal charges against any election officials in Russia over the alleged hacking of the Democratic National Committee.
“We need to make sure Congress knows what