A clever plan to foil a 2024 coup attempt quietly advances

It may seem improbable, given adamant Republican opposition to legislation protecting voting rights, but a bipartisan group of senators is close to agreement on a separate, crucial way to protect our democracy: reforming the Electoral Count Act of 1887.

That arcane law governs how Congress counts presidential electors. If senators resolve last-minute differences, a stolen 2024 election might become substantially less likely.

A serious threat to our democracy is this scenario: A state legislature or governor appoints a slate of presidential electors in defiance of the state’s popular vote, and one chamber of Congress, controlled by the same party, counts those electors. Under current law, those electors would stand, potentially tipping a close election.