The Lawfare Podcast: An Update on Electoral Count Act Reform

Jen Patja, Scott R. Anderson, Ned Foley, Genevieve Nadeau
Wednesday, October 5, 2022, 12:00 PM
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After months of mostly quiet, behind-the-scenes debate, both the House and Senate seem ready to move forward with reforming the Electoral Count Act, the 1887 statute governing how Congress counts electoral votes, whose various ambiguities played a central role in unsuccessful plans to turn the 2020 election results in favor of former President Trump. Experts are all but unanimous on the need to reform the law, and both proposals have at least some bipartisan support, including from Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell. But the path forward remains far from certain.

To discuss what comes next, Lawfare senior editor Scott R. Anderson sat down with Ned Foley, a leading election law expert and professor at The Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, and Genevieve Nadeau, a Counsel at the organization Protect Democracy who has been engaging on reform efforts. They discussed the similarities and differences between the House and Senate reform proposals, how they will strengthen our election process, and what work remains to be done.

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Jen Patja

Jen Patja

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Jen Patja is the editor and producer of The Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.
Scott R. Anderson

Scott R. Anderson

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Scott R. Anderson is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Ned Foley

Ned Foley

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Ned Foley holds Ohio State University’s Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law and directs its election law program. He currently is a Guggenheim Fellow and Visiting Professor at University of Arizona’s law school. He is the author of Ballot Battles: The History of Disputed Elections in the United States (Oxford University Press, revised edition 2024), and Presidential Elections and Majority Rule (Oxford University Press, 2020). He writes about improving electoral procedures at Common Ground Democracy.
Genevieve Nadeau

Genevieve Nadeau

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Genevieve Nadeau is a Counsel at Protect Democracy. She leads a team focused on abuses of power and violations of the rule of law, is an expert on the Electoral Count Act, and is a lecturer at Harvard Law School. She previously served at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, including as Civil Rights Division Chief; at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and in private practice. She is a graduate of Stanford Law School.

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