How updating a 135-year-old law could help save US democracy

One of America’s last-ditch defenses against attempts to subvert presidential elections is a rickety 135-year-old antique.

This ancient structure – an 1887 law called the Electoral Count Act – governs the official counting of Electoral College votes and the naming of the new president-elect. But it’s poorly written and vague in important spots. Then-President Donald Trump tested its strength with his post-vote efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s legitimate victory.

Now key members of Congress from both parties are at work on a serious effort to reinforce and perhaps expand the...