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Senate committee moves forward with legislation to prevent repeat of Jan. 6 insurrection

The Senate Rules Committee voted 14-1 to approve the bill and send it to the Senate floor.

NORFOLK, Va. — The Senate Rules Committee voted 14-1 Tuesday to approve a bill overhauling the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and send it to the Senate floor. 

The Electoral Count Act governs how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential winners.

The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act would modify the 135-year-old legislation to include language that clearly states, among other things, the role of the vice president in overseeing the electoral vote count is strictly ceremonial.

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That specification will eliminate any confusion about whether the vice president can overturn an election by rejecting electoral votes. 

Mike Pence was pressured by Trump loyalists in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection to do just that: Reject electoral college votes in an effort to overturn an election

22 Senate Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), are on record supporting the bill. 

“It makes the already plain fact of the 12th Amendment even clearer, that the Vice President has never had and will never have discretionary powers over the counting,” McConnell said. 

The measure advanced out of the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, but a final vote isn't expected to take place until after this year's November elections.

Mary Clare Jalonick with the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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