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Jan. 6 committee eyes abolishing Electoral College to ‘protect future presidential elections’

June 6, 2022 | | Print Article

As Democrats prepare to take their “bi-partisan” investigation into the events of January 6 prime time, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is pushing members of the House Select Committee to recommend abolishing the electoral college in favor of a national popular vote to “protect future presidential elections.”

On Thursday evening, televised hearings will begin with the goal of telling a “comprehensive narrative” of the “violent attack” on the Capitol building, committee member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Sunday.

But according to a report from Axios, “the committee’s legacy depends in large part on what reforms it pursues after those hearings to prevent another Jan. 6 from happening.”

To that end, the committee is reportedly split on how “to overhaul the U.S. election system.”

Leading the debate is Raskin, a former constitutional law scholar, whom Axios “sources” say is “by far the committee’s most outspoken member during its private discussions about voting rights.”

“In multiple conversations among committee members, Raskin has argued that the Electoral College should be abolished — that if presidents were elected by a popular vote, this would protect future presidential elections against the subversion that Trump and his allies tried to pull off in 2020,” Axios states.

Additionally, Raskin has called on the committee to support “federal legislation to oppose voter suppression tactics and gerrymandering,” a source said.

Objecting to Electoral College votes is familiar territory for Raskin.

In January 2017, he proudly tweeted that he joined his progressive colleagues in objecting to the certification of votes for newly elected President Donald Trump.

While the link to the article no longer seems to work, a trip to the Wayback Machine reveals Raskin and his colleagues were considered “courageous” for attempting to disrupt the process.

So, too, were the protestors in the gallery.

“But protesters in the gallery took up the call,” The Nation reported at the time. “As [then-Vice President] Biden announced the final count—finishing the process that will make Trump the 45th president of the United States—activists objected. They were forcibly removed. But before they were removed, the protesters were heard. ‘I rise to defend our democracy. We reject this electoral vote,’ a woman called out. A man shouted: ‘I rise to defend free and fair elections. Donald Trump as commander in chief is a threat to American democracy.'”

Now, Raskin is locking horns with fellow committee members who are not quite as willing to “overhaul the U.S. election system,” according to Axios.

RINO Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is reportedly one of the members who is pushing back against Raskin’s proposals which fly in the face of the Founding Fathers’ intentions in establishing a republic.

“The broadest differences are between Cheney and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), according to three sources familiar with the committee’s private discussions,” Axios reports. “The two have a warm personal relationship but fundamentally disagree on what needs to be done to reform America’s election laws.”

“Liz is much more conservative, as far as what kinds of changes she wants to see done,” a source “with direct knowledge of their conversations” said.

Not surprisingly, Adam Schiff sides mostly with Raskin, though according to that very knowledgeable source, Schiff “is far more focused on changes to the Electoral Count Act — a reform that is much more likely for the committee members to agree upon.”

Melissa Fine
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