Some lawmakers are concerned that the Electoral Count Act could be exploited in favor of a losing candidate in future elections, report says

Senate staff carry a box containing the Electoral College votes for certification on January 6, 2021.
Cheriss May/Getty

Trump allies tried to in seven states tried to falsely certify the 2020 election in Trump's favor.
Some lawmakers told NBC News they're concerned existing election laws could allow for a similar scenario in 2024.
Experts said the Electoral Count Act should be reformed to prevent fake electors from casting ballots.

Lawmakers investigating the January 6 Capitol riot are concerned that the insurrection created a blueprint for pulling off another attempted coup in 2024, NBC News reported.

Some fear that the ambiguous language codified in the Electoral Count Act, which is a law that sets procedures for the counting of Electoral College votes, could be exploited in favor of a candidate even if they didn't win enough votes.

"A lot of what we saw in 2020 and the aftermath of the election was testing the waters to see where there are weaknesses in the system of laws that govern us," Arizona's Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told NBC News.

Hobbs said without accountability and "tightening up of these laws, we are at risk of these things happening again."

In March 2021, the nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight found that supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to take on roles as electors and filed certificates claiming that Trump won.

Republicans in seven states tried to falsely certify the election in Trump's favor.

Supports in various swing states argued that "alternate electors" would be legal and could vote to elect Trump.

Former Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn previously admitted to playing a role in the scheme, even speaking with members of Trump's legal team — including Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani.

"Yes, I was part of the process to make sure there were alternate electors for when, as we hoped, the challenges to the seated electors would be heard, and would be successful," Epshteyn told MSNBC in January.

John Eastman, a lawyer who was advising Trump, wrote out a memo that featured several scenarios on how former Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election. Pence, however, still certified the election for President Joe Biden.

NBC News reported that the January 6 committee is investigating who devised the scheme. This past Thursday, the panel heard from Stephen Miller, a top Trump White House adviser, about the plan.

The committee is also interviewing bogus electors to understand how they were recruited.

Officials told NBC News that unless the Electoral Count Act is reformed there's no guarantee that the fake electors would be thrown out in future elections.

"The most important question is how do we ensure there is no political actor in Congress or state government that can elevate those fake electors into something that might actually get counted," Matthew Seligman, an election law expert, told NBC News.

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