Electoral Count Act of 1887
E1938
The Electoral Count Act of 1887 is a U.S. federal law that sets procedures for resolving disputes over presidential electors and counting electoral votes in Congress.
Aliases (1)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States federal statute
→
election law → |
| addresses |
objections to electoral votes in joint session of Congress
→
role of the President of the Senate in counting electoral votes → timing of state determinations of electors → treatment of multiple slates of electors from a state → |
| amendedBy |
Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022
→
|
| appliesTo |
United States presidential elections
→
|
| codifiedIn |
Title 3 of the United States Code
→
|
| codifiedSections |
3 U.S.C. §§ 15–18
→
3 U.S.C. §§ 5–6 → |
| country |
United States
→
|
| criticizedFor |
complex and ambiguous statutory language
→
unclear standards for resolving competing slates of electors → |
| dateEnacted |
February 3, 1887
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|
| enactedBy |
United States Congress
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|
| establishesConcept |
safe harbor deadline for state determinations of electors
→
|
| governs |
joint session of Congress for counting electoral votes
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|
| governsOffice |
President of the United States
→
Vice President of the United States → |
| influencedBy |
Electoral Commission of 1877
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|
| interpretedAs |
constraining the Vice President’s role to ministerial functions in counting votes
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|
| interpretedInCase |
Bush v. Gore
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|
| jurisdiction |
United States federal government
→
|
| language |
English
→
|
| legislativeBodyInvolved |
United States House of Representatives
→
United States Senate → |
| limitsDebateTime |
debate on objections in each chamber is time-limited
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|
| motivatedBy |
disputed 1876 United States presidential election
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|
| presidentAtEnactment |
Grover Cleveland
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|
| procedure |
House and Senate withdraw separately to debate objections to electoral votes
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both chambers must agree to sustain an objection to exclude an electoral vote → |
| publicLawType |
federal statute governing electoral vote counting
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|
| purpose |
to clarify the role of Congress in counting electoral votes
→
to establish procedures for counting electoral votes in Congress → to provide rules for resolving disputes over the appointment of presidential electors → |
| relatedTo |
Electoral College (United States)
→
Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution → |
| relevantTo |
2000 United States presidential election
→
2020 United States presidential election → |
| requires |
written objections to electoral votes signed by at least one Senator and one Representative
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|
| safeHarborDeadline |
six days before the meeting of the Electoral College
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|
| shortName |
Electoral Count Act
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|
| signedBy |
Grover Cleveland
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|
| statusAfter2022 |
substantially revised by later legislation
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|
| subjectMatter |
counting of electoral votes
→
disputes over appointment of electors → |
| yearEnacted |
1887
→
|
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022
→
|
amends |
|
Electoral College
→
|
governingFederalStatute |
|
Electoral Count Act of 1887
("Electoral Count Act")
→
|
shortName |