Broad Coalition of Environmental Groups Respond to Congress Passing Reforms to the Electoral Count Act of 1887

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congress passed reforms to the Electoral Count Act of 1887. These reforms will clarify the presidential election certification process and will clearly define the Vice President’s role in counting electoral votes as solely ceremonial, among many other advancements. 

Congress passed these reforms following the January 6, 2021 insurrection, when Donald Trump and some Members of Congress falsely claimed the Electoral Count Act of 1887 gave the Vice President the authority to deny the will of the American people and overturn the results of the 2020 election and engaged in numerous other attempts to overturn the election. 

Following the big lie of 2020, more than 150 election deniers were reelected or newly elected to serve in Congress. Additionally, since the beginning of 2021, lawmakers have passed over 40 restrictive voting laws in 21 states pushing forth the false narrative that there was rampant voter fraud in the 2020 election. The reforms passed today will not undo any of these voter suppression laws or hold anyone accountable for attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Environmental groups support these incremental reforms but reaffirm that far more must be done to protect and expand voting rights and strengthen our democracy. 

Below is a joint statement from Clean Water Action, Climate Hawks Vote, Endangered Species Coalition, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace USA, Interfaith Power & Light, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Sierra Club: 

“We applaud Congress and President Biden for coming together in a bipartisan manner to pass these much-needed reforms to the Electoral Count Act of 1887. After the January 6th insurrection, it became abundantly clear that this outdated law needed to be updated to protect the will of the people and our democracy. Although the reforms passed today will help protect the peaceful transfer of power and make another insurrection less likely to succeed, it is simply not enough to address the myriad problems our democracy faces. 

"Today, our democracy remains extremely fragile. We cannot be complacent with just the passage of these reforms.

"Instead, our elected officials must do more. We urge President Biden to swiftly and fully implement his first Voting Rights Executive Order and sign additional orders strengthening the pillars of our democracy. And we call on Congress to use its authority to pass robust democracy legislation like the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. These bills are vital to protecting the voices, freedoms, and future of all Americans and we will continue fighting for them.”