This Electoral Count Act is under scrutiny. What is it?

WAMU 88.5 | By Rupert Allman

Published February 2, 2022 at 8:44 AM EST

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Sometimes what’s at first seen as a bad idea – in time – can end up looking like a good one.

Take the growing momentum behind a bipartisan push to update a 19th century law that details how Congress counts Electoral College votes.

There’s now serious interest from both Democrats and Republicans to overhaul the Electoral Count Act.

This 1887 law is under scrutiny in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. But just a few weeks ago, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wasn’t having any of it:

Some say the answer lies in doing the bare minimum like reforming the Electoral Count Act. Let me take this opportunity to make clear that that plan, the McConnell plan for that’s what it is, is unacceptably insufficient and even offensive. Some scorekeeping matters little if the game is rigged.

So, what’s changed since then?