'Everything's up for grabs': The 2022 midterms could see open warfare over election results in an increasingly polarized Congress

More than a year after January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, members of Congress from both parties are considering changes to the Electoral Count Act, which governs how Congress will count electoral votes in 2025, as the best chance for major election reform.

But Congress itself may first become a political tinderbox over the high-stakes 2022 midterms. In the following year, a Congress that is increasingly defined by toxic partisan rancor and includes over 100 GOP members who objected to ratifying the results of the 2020 presidential election may be tasked with adjudicating a close race in 2022. 

"I'm very concerned about 2022," David Becker, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research, said on an early January call with reporters. "And I think the focus on 2024 and 2025 is a little too forward-looking. This is happening right now."

The GOP's efforts to subvert elections at the state level and the high stakes for control of Congress set up the perfect storm for election chaos in 2022.