II 

Calendar No. 529 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4573 

To amend title 3, United States Code, to reform the Electoral Count Act, 

and to amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to provide clear 

guidelines for when and to whom resources are provided by the Administrator of General Services for use in connection with the preparations 

for the assumption of official duties as President or Vice President. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 20, 2022 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. PORTMAN, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. 

ROMNEY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. WARNER, Mr. TILLIS, 

Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. COONS, Mr. 

SASSE, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. PADILLA, 

Mr. BENNET, Mr. TOOMEY, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BLUNT, 

Mr. KELLY, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. CARPER, Mr. THUNE, Ms. CORTEZ

MASTO, Mr. CORNYN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Rules and Administration 

OCTOBER 18, 2022 

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of October 14, 2022, by 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend title 3, United States Code, to reform the Electoral Count Act, and to amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to provide clear guidelines for when 

and to whom resources are provided by the Administrator 


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of General Services for use in connection with the preparations for the assumption of official duties as President 

or Vice President. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, ETC. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Im6 provement Act of 2022’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title, etc. 

TITLE I—ELECTORAL COUNT REFORM ACT 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Time for appointing electors. 

Sec. 103. Clarification with respect to vacancies in electoral college. 

Sec. 104. Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors. 

Sec. 105. Duties of the Archivist. 

Sec. 106. Meeting of electors. 

Sec. 107. Transmission of certificates of votes. 

Sec. 108. Failure of certificate of votes to reach recipients. 

Sec. 109. Clarifications relating to counting electoral votes. 

Sec. 110. Rules relating to joint meeting. 

Sec. 111. Severability. 

TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION IMPROVEMENT ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Modifications to Presidential Transition Act of 1963. 

9 TITLE I—ELECTORAL COUNT 

10 REFORM ACT 

11 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Electoral Count Re13 form Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. TIME FOR APPOINTING ELECTORS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 3, United States Code, is 

3 amended by striking sections 1 and 2 and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘§ 1. Time of appointing electors 

6 ‘‘The electors of President and Vice President shall 

7 be appointed, in each State, on election day, in accordance 

8 with the laws of the State enacted prior to election day.’’. 

9 (b) ELECTION DAY.—Section 21 of title 3, United 

10 States Code, is amended by redesignating subsections (a) 

11 and (b) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively, and by 

12 inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(1) ‘election day’ means the Tuesday next 

15 after the first Monday in November, in every fourth 

16 year succeeding every election of a President and 

17 Vice President held in each State, except, in the case 

18 of a State that appoints electors by popular vote, if 

19 the State modifies the period of voting as neces20 sitated by extraordinary and catastrophic events as 

21 provided under laws of the State enacted prior to 

22 such day, ‘election day’ shall include the modified 

23 period of voting.’’. 

24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con25 tents for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by striking the item relating to section 1 and 

2 inserting the following: 

‘‘1. Time of appointing electors.’’. 

3 SEC. 103. CLARIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO VACANCIES IN 

4 ELECTORAL COLLEGE. 

5 Section 4 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 

6 by inserting ‘‘enacted prior to election day’’ after ‘‘by 

7 law’’. 

8 SEC. 104. CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAINMENT OF APPOINT9 MENT OF ELECTORS. 

10 (a) DETERMINATION.—Section 5 of title 3, United 

11 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘§ 5. Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of 

13 electors 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than the date 

16 that is 6 days before the time fixed for the meeting 

17 of the electors, the executive of each State shall 

18 issue a certificate of ascertainment of appointment 

19 of electors, under and in pursuance of the laws of 

20 such State providing for such appointment and as21 certainment enacted prior to election day. 

22 ‘‘(2) FORM OF CERTIFICATE.—Each certificate 

23 of ascertainment of appointment of electors shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) set forth the names of the electors 

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1 tion under the laws of such State of the number 

2 of votes given or cast for each person for whose 

3 appointment any and all votes have been given 

4 or cast; 

5 ‘‘(B) bear the seal of the State; and 

6 ‘‘(C) contain at least one security feature, 

7 as determined by the State, for purposes of 

8 verifying the authenticity of such certificate. 

9 ‘‘(b) TRANSMISSION.—It shall be the duty of the ex10 ecutive of each State— 

11 ‘‘(1) to transmit to the Archivist of the United 

12 States, by the most expeditious method available, the 

13 certificate of ascertainment of appointment of elec14 tors; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to transmit to the electors of such State, 

16 on or before the day on which the electors are re17 quired to meet under section 7, six duplicate-origi18 nals of the same certificate. 

19 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF CERTIFICATE AS CONCLU20 SIVE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 

22 15— 

23 ‘‘(A) the certificate of ascertainment of ap24 pointment of electors issued pursuant to this 

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1 spect to the determination of electors appointed 

2 by the State; and 

3 ‘‘(B) any certificate of ascertainment of 

4 appointment of electors as required to be re5 vised by any subsequent State or Federal judi6 cial relief granted prior to the date of the meet7 ing of electors shall replace and supersede any 

8 other certificates submitted pursuant to this 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL QUES11 TIONS.—The determination of Federal courts on 

12 questions arising under the Constitution or laws of 

13 the United States with respect to a certificate of as14 certainment of appointment of electors shall be con15 clusive. 

16 ‘‘(d) VENUE AND EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any action brought by an 

18 aggrieved candidate for President or Vice President 

19 that arises under the Constitution or laws of the 

20 United States with respect to the issuance of the 

21 certification required under section (a)(1), or the 

22 transmission of such certification as required under 

23 subsection (b), shall be subject to the following 

24 rules: 


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1 ‘‘(A) VENUE.—The venue for such action 

2 shall be the Federal district court of the Fed3 eral district in which the State capital is lo4 cated. 

5 ‘‘(B) 3-JUDGE PANEL.—Such action shall 

6 be heard by a district court of three judges, 

7 convened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, 

8 United States Code, except that the court shall 

9 be comprised of two judges of the circuit court 

10 of appeals in which the district court lies and 

11 one judge of the district court in which the ac12 tion is brought. 

13 ‘‘(C) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.—It shall be 

14 the duty of the court to advance on the docket 

15 and to expedite to the greatest possible extent 

16 the disposition of the action, consistent with all 

17 other relevant deadlines established by this 

18 chapter and the laws of the United States. 

19 ‘‘(D) APPEALS.—Any appeal from the 

20 judgment of the panel convened under subpara21 graph (B) may be heard directly by the Su22 preme Court, pursuant to section 1253 of title 

23 28, United States Code, on an expedited basis, 

24 so that a final order of the court on remand of 

25 the Supreme Court may occur on or before the 


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1 day before the time fixed for the meeting of 

2 electors. 

3 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This sub4 section shall be construed solely to establish venue 

5 and expedited procedures in any action brought by 

6 an aggrieved candidate for President or Vice Presi7 dent as specified in this subsection that arises under 

8 the Constitution or laws of the United States.’’. 

9 (b) EXECUTIVE OF A STATE.—Section 21 of title 3, 

10 United States Code, as amended by section 102(b), is 

11 amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(3) ‘executive’ means, with respect to any 

14 State, the Governor of the State (or, in the case of 

15 the District of Columbia, the Mayor of the District 

16 of Columbia), except when the laws or constitution 

17 of a State in effect as of election day expressly re18 quire a different State executive to perform the du19 ties identified under this chapter.’’. 

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) Section 9 of title 3, United States Code, is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘annex to each of the certifi23 cates one of the lists of the electors’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘annex to each of the certificates of votes one of the 


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1 certificates of ascertainment of appointment of elec2 tors’’. 

3 (2) The table of contents for chapter 1 of title 

4 3, United States Code, is amended by striking the 

5 items relating to sections 5 inserting the following: 

‘‘5. Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors.’’. 

6 SEC. 105. DUTIES OF THE ARCHIVIST. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of title 3, United States 

8 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 6. Duties of Archivist 

10 ‘‘The certificates of ascertainment of appointment of 

11 electors received by the Archivist of the United States 

12 under section 5 shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) be preserved for one year; 

14 ‘‘(2) be a part of the public records of such of15 fice; and 

16 ‘‘(3) be open to public inspection.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con18 tents for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is 

19 amended by striking the items relating to section 6 and 

20 inserting the following: 

‘‘6. Duties of Archivist.’’. 

21 SEC. 106. MEETING OF ELECTORS. 

22 (a) TIME FOR MEETING.—Section 7 of title 3, United 

23 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Monday’’ and inserting ‘‘Tues2 day’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘as the legislature of such State 

4 shall direct’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance with the 

5 laws of the State enacted prior to election day’’. 

6 (b) CLARIFICATION ON SEALING OF CERTIFICATES

7 OF VOTES.—Section 10 of such title is amended by strik8 ing ‘‘the certificates so made by them’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

9 certificates of votes so made by them, together with the 

10 annexed certificates of ascertainment of appointment of 

11 electors,’’. 

12 SEC. 107. TRANSMISSION OF CERTIFICATES OF VOTES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 11 of title 3, United 

14 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘§ 11 Transmission of certificates by electors 

16 ‘‘The electors shall immediately transmit at the same 

17 time and by the most expeditious method available the cer18 tificates of votes so made by them, together with the an19 nexed certificates of ascertainment of appointment of elec20 tors, as follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) One set shall be sent to the President of 

22 the Senate at the seat of government. 

23 ‘‘(2) Two sets shall be sent to the chief election 

24 officer of the State, one of which shall be held sub25 ject to the order of the President of the Senate, the 


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1 other to be preserved by such official for one year 

2 and shall be a part of the public records of such of3 fice and shall be open to public inspection. 

4 ‘‘(3) Two sets shall be sent to the Archivist of 

5 the United States at the seat of government, one of 

6 which shall be held subject to the order of the Presi7 dent of the Senate and the other of which shall be 

8 preserved by the Archivist of the United States for 

9 one year and shall be a part of the public records 

10 of such office and shall be open to public inspection. 

11 ‘‘(4) One set shall be sent to the judge of the 

12 district in which the electors shall have assembled.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con14 tents for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking the item relating to section 11 and 

16 inserting the following: 

‘‘11. Transmission of certificates by electors.’’. 

17 SEC. 108. FAILURE OF CERTIFICATE OF VOTES TO REACH 

18 RECIPIENTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12 of title 3, United 

20 States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘, after the meeting of the elec22 tors shall have been held,’’ after ‘‘When’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘in December, after the meeting 

24 of the electors shall have been held,’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘in December,’’; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘or, if he be absent’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘or, if the President of the Senate be absent’’; 

3 (4) by striking ‘‘secretary of State’’ and insert 

4 ‘‘chief election officer of the State’’; 

5 (5) by striking ‘‘and list’’; 

6 (6) by striking ‘‘lodged with him’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘lodged with such officer’’; 

8 (7) by striking ‘‘his duty’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

9 duty of such chief election officer of the State’’; and 

10 (8) by striking ‘‘by registered mail’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘by the most expeditious method available’’. 

12 (b) CONTINUED FAILURE.—Section 13 of title 3, 

13 United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘, after the meeting of the elec15 tors shall have been held,’’ after ‘‘When’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘in December, after the meeting 

17 of the electors shall have been held,’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘in December,’’; 

19 (3) by striking ‘‘or, if he be absent’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘or, if the President of the Senate be absent’’; 

21 and 

22 (4) by striking ‘‘that list’’ and inserting ‘‘that 

23 certificate’’. 

24 (c) ELIMINATION OF MESSENGER’S PENALTY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title 3, United States Code, 

2 is amended by striking section 14. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

4 contents for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, 

5 is amended by striking the item relating to section 

6 14. 

7 SEC. 109. CLARIFICATIONS RELATING TO COUNTING ELEC8 TORAL VOTES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 15 of title 3, United 

10 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘§ 15. Counting electoral votes in Congress 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Congress shall be in session on 

13 the sixth day of January succeeding every meeting of the 

14 electors. The Senate and House of Representatives shall 

15 meet in the Hall of the House of Representatives at the 

16 hour of 1 o’clock in the afternoon on that day, and the 

17 President of the Senate shall be their presiding officer. 

18 ‘‘(b) POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF SENATE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) MINISTERIAL IN NATURE.—Except as oth20 erwise provided in this chapter, the role of the Presi21 dent of the Senate while presiding over the joint 

22 meeting shall be limited to performing solely min23 isterial duties. 

24 ‘‘(2) POWERS EXPLICITLY DENIED.—The Presi25 dent of the Senate shall have no power to solely deVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4573.RS S4573

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1 termine, accept, reject, or otherwise adjudicate or re2 solve disputes over the proper list of electors, the va3 lidity of electors, or the votes of electors. 

4 ‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT OF TELLERS.—At the joint meet5 ing of the Senate and House of Representatives described 

6 in subsection (a), there shall be present two tellers pre7 viously appointed on the part of the Senate and two tellers 

8 previously appointed on the part of the House of Rep9 resentatives by the presiding officers of the respective 

10 chambers. 

11 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURE AT JOINT MEETING GEN12 ERALLY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President of the Sen14 ate shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) open the certificates and papers pur16 porting to be certificates of the votes of electors 

17 appointed pursuant to a certificate of ascertain18 ment of appointment of electors issued pursu19 ant to section 5, in the alphabetical order of the 

20 States, beginning with the letter A; and 

21 ‘‘(B) upon opening any certificate, hand 

22 the certificate and any accompanying papers to 

23 the tellers, who shall read the same in the pres24 ence and hearing of the two Houses. 

25 ‘‘(2) ACTION ON CERTIFICATE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the reading of 

2 each certificate or paper, the President of the 

3 Senate shall call for objections, if any. 

4 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR OBJECTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) OBJECTIONS.—No objection shall 

6 be in order unless the objection— 

7 ‘‘(I) is made in writing; 

8 ‘‘(II) is signed by at least one9 fifth of the Senators duly chosen and 

10 sworn and one-fifth of the Members of 

11 the House of Representatives duly 

12 chosen and sworn; and 

13 ‘‘(III) states clearly and con14 cisely, without argument, one of the 

15 grounds listed under clause (ii). 

16 ‘‘(ii) GROUNDS FOR OBJECTIONS.— 

17 The only grounds for objections shall be as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(I) The electors of the State 

20 were not lawfully certified under a 

21 certificate of ascertainment of ap22 pointment of electors according to sec23 tion 5(a)(1). 

24 ‘‘(II) The vote of one or more 

25 electors has not been regularly given. 


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1 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION OF OBJECTIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—When all objec3 tions so made to any vote or paper from a 

4 State shall have been received and read, 

5 the Senate shall thereupon withdraw, and 

6 such objections shall be submitted to the 

7 Senate for its decision; and the Speaker of 

8 the House of Representatives shall, in like 

9 manner, submit such objections to the 

10 House of Representatives for its decision. 

11 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION.—No objection 

12 may be sustained unless such objection is 

13 sustained by separate concurring votes of 

14 each House. 

15 ‘‘(D) RECONVENING.—When the two 

16 Houses have voted, they shall immediately 

17 again meet, and the presiding officer shall then 

18 announce the decision of the questions sub19 mitted. No votes or papers from any other 

20 State shall be acted upon until the objections 

21 previously made to the votes or papers from 

22 any State shall have been finally disposed of. 

23 ‘‘(e) RULES FOR TABULATING VOTES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) COUNTING OF VOTES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B)— 

3 ‘‘(i) only the votes of electors who 

4 have been appointed under a certificate of 

5 ascertainment of appointment of electors 

6 issued pursuant to section 5, or who have 

7 legally been appointed to fill a vacancy of 

8 any such elector pursuant to section 4, 

9 may be counted; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) no vote of an elector described in 

11 clause (i) which has been regularly given 

12 shall be rejected. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The vote of an elector 

14 who has been appointed under a certificate of 

15 ascertainment of appointment of electors issued 

16 pursuant to section 5 shall not be counted if— 

17 ‘‘(i) there is an objection which meets 

18 the requirements of subsection 

19 (d)(2)(B)(i); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) each House affirmatively sus21 tains the objection as valid. 

22 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF MAJORITY.—If the 

23 number of electors lawfully appointed by any State 

24 pursuant to a certificate of ascertainment of ap25 pointment of electors that is issued under section 5 


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1 is less than the number of electoral votes entitled to 

2 be cast by the State, or if an objection the grounds 

3 for which are described in subsection (d)(2)(B)(ii)(I) 

4 has been sustained, the total number of electors ap5 pointed for the purpose of determining a majority of 

6 the whole number of electors appointed as required 

7 by the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution shall 

8 be reduced by the number of electors whom the 

9 State has failed to appoint or as to whom the objec10 tion was sustained. 

11 ‘‘(3) LIST OF VOTES BY TELLERS; DECLARA12 TION OF WINNER.—The tellers shall make a list of 

13 the votes as they shall appear from the said certifi14 cates; and the votes having been ascertained and 

15 counted according to the rules in this subchapter 

16 provided, the result of the same shall be delivered to 

17 the President of the Senate, who shall thereupon an18 nounce the state of the vote, which announcement 

19 shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the per20 sons, if any, elected President and Vice President of 

21 the United States, and, together with a list of the 

22 votes, be entered on the Journals of the two 

23 Houses.’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con25 tents for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by striking the item relating to section 15 and 

2 inserting the following: 

‘‘15. Counting electoral votes in Congress.’’. 

3 SEC. 110. RULES RELATING TO JOINT MEETING. 

4 (a) LIMIT OF DEBATE IN EACH HOUSE.—Section 17 

5 of title 3, United States Code, is amended to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘§ 17. Same; limit of debate in each House 

8 ‘‘When the two Houses separate to decide upon an 

9 objection pursuant to section 15(d)(2)(C)(i) that may have 

10 been made to the counting of any electoral vote or votes 

11 from any State, or other question arising in the matter— 

12 ‘‘(1) all such objections and questions permitted 

13 with respect to such State shall be considered at 

14 such time; 

15 ‘‘(2) each Senator and Representative may 

16 speak to such objections or questions five minutes, 

17 and not more than once; 

18 ‘‘(3) the total time for debate for all such objec19 tions and questions with respect to such State shall 

20 not exceed two hours in each House; and 

21 ‘‘(4) at the close of such debate, it shall be the 

22 duty of the presiding officer of each House to put 

23 the objections and questions to a vote without fur24 ther debate.’’. 


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1 (b) PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE.—Section 18 of 

2 title 3, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

3 ‘‘under section 15(d)(2)(C)(i)’’ after ‘‘motion to with4 draw’’. 

5 SEC. 111. SEVERABILITY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 3, United States Code, is 

7 amended by inserting after section 21 the following new 

8 section: 

9 ‘‘§ 22. Severability 

10 ‘‘If any provision of this chapter, or the applica11 tion of a provision to any person or circumstance, is 

12 held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this 

13 chapter, and the application of the provisions to any 

14 person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the 

15 holding.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con17 tents for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘22. Severability.’’. 

19 TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL 

20 TRANSITION IMPROVEMENT ACT 

21 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This title may be cited as ‘‘Presidential Transition 

23 Improvement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. MODIFICATIONS TO PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION 

2 ACT OF 1963. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Presidential 

4 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended 

5 by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(c)(1) APPARENT SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, 

8 the ‘apparent successful candidate’ for the office of 

9 President and Vice President, respectively, shall be 

10 determined as follows: 

11 ‘‘(i) If all but one eligible candidate for the 

12 office of President and one eligible candidate 

13 for the office of Vice President, respectively, 

14 concede the election, then the candidate for 

15 each such office who has not conceded shall be 

16 the apparent successful candidate for each such 

17 office. 

18 ‘‘(ii) If, on the date that is 5 days after the 

19 date of the election, more than one eligible can20 didate for the office of President has not con21 ceded the election, then each of the remaining 

22 eligible candidates for such office and the office 

23 of Vice President who have not conceded shall 

24 be treated as the apparent successful candidates 

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1 cessful candidate pursuant to clause (iii) or 

2 clause (iv). 

3 ‘‘(iii) If a single candidate for the office of 

4 President or Vice President is determined by 

5 the Administrator to meet the qualifications 

6 under subparagraph (B), the Administrator 

7 may determine that such candidate shall solely 

8 be treated as the apparent successful candidate 

9 for that office until such time as a single can10 didate for the office of President is treated as 

11 the apparent successful candidate pursuant to 

12 clause (iv). 

13 ‘‘(iv) If a single candidate for the office of 

14 President or Vice President is the apparent suc15 cessful candidate for such office under subpara16 graph (C), that candidate shall solely be treated 

17 as the apparent successful candidate for that 

18 office. 

19 ‘‘(B) INTERIM DISCRETIONARY QUALIFICA20 TIONS.—On or after the date that is 5 days after 

21 the date of the election, the Administrator may de22 termine that a single candidate for the office of 

23 President or Vice President shall be treated as the 

24 sole apparent successful candidate for that office 

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1 tially certain the candidate will receive a majority of 

2 the pledged votes of electors, based on consideration 

3 of the following factors: 

4 ‘‘(i) The results of the election for such of5 fice in States in which significant legal chal6 lenges that could alter the outcome of the elec7 tion in the State have been substantially re8 solved, such that the outcome is substantially 

9 certain. 

10 ‘‘(ii) The certified results of the election 

11 for such office in States in which the certifi12 cation is complete. 

13 ‘‘(iii) The results of the election for such 

14 office in States in which there is substantial 

15 certainty of an apparent successful candidate 

16 based on the totality of the circumstances. 

17 ‘‘(C) MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub19 paragraph (A) or (B), a candidate shall be the 

20 sole apparent successful candidate for the office 

21 of President or Vice President pursuant to sub22 paragraph (A)(iv) for purposes of this Act if— 

23 ‘‘(I) the candidate receives a majority 

24 of pledged votes of electors of such office 

25 based on certifications by States of their 


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1 final canvass, and the conclusion of any re2 counts, legal actions, or administrative ac3 tions pertaining to the results of the elec4 tion for such office; 

5 ‘‘(II) in the case where subclause (I) 

6 is not met, the candidate receives a major7 ity of votes of electors of such office at the 

8 meeting and vote of electors under section 

9 7 of title 3, United States Code; or 

10 ‘‘(III) in the case where neither sub11 clause (I) or (II) is met, the candidate is 

12 declared as the person elected to such of13 fice at the joint session of Congress under 

14 section 15 of title 3, United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(ii) CLARIFICATION IF STATE UNABLE TO

16 CERTIFY ELECTION RESULTS OR APPOINTS

17 MORE THAN ONE SLATE OF ELECTORS.—For 

18 purposes of subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (i), 

19 if a State is unable to certify its election results 

20 or a State appoints more than one slate of elec21 tors, the votes of the electors of such State 

22 shall not count towards meeting the qualifica23 tions under such subclauses. 

24 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF MULTIPLE POSSIBLE APPARENT

25 SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES.—During any period in which 


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1 there is more than one possible apparent successful can2 didate for the office of President— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Administrator is authorized to provide, 

4 upon request, to each remaining eligible candidate 

5 for such office and the office of Vice President de6 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) access to services 

7 and facilities pursuant to this Act; 

8 ‘‘(B) the Administrator, in conjunction with the 

9 Federal Transition Coordinator designated under 

10 section 4(c) and the senior career employee of each 

11 agency and senior career employee of each major 

12 component and subcomponent of each agency des13 ignated under subsection (f)(1) to oversee and imple14 ment the activities of the agency, component, or sub15 component relating to the Presidential transition, 

16 shall make efforts to ensure that each such can17 didate is provided equal access to agency informa18 tion and spaces as requested pursuant to this Act; 

19 ‘‘(C) the Administrator shall provide weekly re20 ports to Congress containing a brief summary of the 

21 status of funds being distributed to such candidates 

22 under this Act, the level of access to agency informa23 tion and spaces provided to such candidates, and the 

24 status of such candidates with respect to meeting 

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1 didate for the office of President or Vice President 

2 under subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1); 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(D) if a single candidate for the office of 

5 President or Vice President is treated as the appar6 ent successful candidate for such office pursuant to 

7 subparagraph (A)(iii) or (A)(iv) of paragraph (1), 

8 not later than 24 hours after such treatment is ef9 fective, the Administrator shall make available to the 

10 public a written statement that such candidate is 

11 treated as the sole apparent successful candidate for 

12 such office for purposes of this Act, including a de13 scription of the legal basis and reasons for such 

14 treatment based on the qualifications under subpara15 graph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1), as applicable. 

16 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘eli17 gible candidate’ has the meaning given that term in sub18 section (h)(4).’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Presidential 

20 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

21 (1) in section 3— 

22 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘PRESI23 DENTS-ELECT AND VICE-PRESIDENTS24 ELECT’’ and inserting ‘‘APPARENT SUCCESS25 FUL CANDIDATES’’; 


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1 (B) in subsection (a)— 

2 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

3 (1)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘each President5 elect, each Vice-President-elect’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘each apparent successful 

7 candidate for the office of President 

8 and Vice President (as determined by 

9 subsection (c))’’; and 

10 (II) by striking ‘‘the President11 elect and Vice-President-elect’’ and in12 serting ‘‘each such candidate’’; 

13 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (I) by striking ‘‘the President15 elect, the Vice-President-elect’’ and in16 serting ‘‘the apparent successful can17 didate’’; and 

18 (II) by striking ‘‘the President19 elect or Vice-President-elect’’ and in20 serting ‘‘the apparent successful can21 didate’’; 

22 (iii) in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and 

23 (5), by striking ‘‘the President-elect or 

24 Vice-President-elect’’ each place it appears 


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1 and inserting ‘‘the apparent successful 

2 candidate’’; 

3 (iv) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking 

4 ‘‘the President-elect, the Vice-President5 elect, or the designee of the President-elect 

6 or Vice-President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

7 apparent successful candidate or their des8 ignee’’; 

9 (v) in paragraph (8), in subparagraph 

10 (A)(v) and (B), by striking ‘‘the President11 elect’’ and inserting ‘‘the apparent success12 ful candidate for the office of President’’; 

13 and 

14 (vi) in paragraph (10)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘any President16 elect, Vice-President-elect, or eligible 

17 candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘any appar18 ent successful candidate or eligible 

19 candidate’’; and 

20 (II) by striking ‘‘the President21 elect and Vice President-elect’’ and in22 serting ‘‘the apparent successful can23 didates’’; 

24 (C) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the 

2 President-elect or Vice-President-elect, or 

3 after the inauguration of the President4 elect as President and the inauguration of 

5 the Vice-President-elect as Vice President’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘the apparent successful 

7 candidates, or after the inauguration of the 

8 apparent successful candidate for the office 

9 of President as President and the inau10 guration of the apparent successful can11 didate for the office of Vice President as 

12 Vice President’’; and 

13 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 

14 President-elect, Vice-President-elect’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘the apparent successful can16 didate’’; 

17 (D) in subsection (d)— 

18 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘Each President-elect’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘Each apparent successful candidate for 

21 the office of President’’; and 

22 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

23 ‘‘Each Vice-President-elect’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Each apparent successful candidate for 

25 the office of Vice-President’’; 


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1 (E) in subsection (e)— 

2 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

3 ‘‘Each President-elect and Vice-President4 elect’’ and inserting ‘‘Each apparent suc5 cessful candidate’’; and 

6 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

7 ‘‘any President-elect or Vice-President8 elect may be made upon the basis of a cer9 tificate by him or the assistant designated 

10 by him’’ and inserting ‘‘any apparent suc11 cessful candidate may be made upon the 

12 basis of a certificate by the candidate or 

13 their designee’’; 

14 (F) in subsection (f)— 

15 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The 

16 President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘Any appar17 ent successful candidate for the office of 

18 President’’; and 

19 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘in20 auguration of the President-elect as Presi21 dent and the inauguration of the Vice22 President-elect as Vice President’’ and in23 serting ‘‘inauguration of the apparent suc24 cessful candidate for the office of President 

25 as President and the inauguration of the 


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1 apparent successful candidate for the office 

2 of Vice President as Vice President’’; 

3 (G) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘In the 

4 case where the President-elect is the incumbent 

5 President or in the case where the Vice-Presi6 dent-elect is the incumbent Vice President’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘In the case where an apparent suc8 cessful candidate for the office of President is 

9 the incumbent President or in the case where 

10 an apparent successful candidate for the office 

11 of Vice President is the incumbent Vice Presi12 dent’’; 

13 (H) in subsection (h)— 

14 (i) in paragraph (2)(B)(iv), by strik15 ing ‘‘the President-elect or Vice-President16 elect’’ and inserting ‘‘an apparent success17 ful candidates’’; and 

18 (ii) in paragraph (3)(B)(iii), by strik19 ing ‘‘the President-elect or Vice-President20 elect’’ and inserting ‘‘an apparent success21 ful candidates’’; and 

22 (I) in subsection (i)(3)(C)— 

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1 President-elect as Vice President’’ and in2 serting ‘‘the inauguration of the apparent 

3 successful candidate for the office of Presi4 dent as President and the inauguration of 

5 the apparent successful candidate for the 

6 office of Vice President as Vice President’’; 

7 and 

8 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘upon 

9 request of the President-elect or the Vice10 President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘upon re11 quest of the apparent successful can12 didate’’; 

13 (2) in section 4— 

14 (A) in subsection (e)— 

15 (i) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 

16 ‘‘the President-elect and Vice-President17 elect’’ and inserting ‘‘the apparent success18 ful candidates (as determined by section 

19 3(c))’’; and 

20 (ii) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking 

21 ‘‘the President-elect is inaugurated’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘the apparent successful can23 didate for the office of President is inaugu24 rated’’; and 

25 (B) in subsection (g)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking 

2 ‘‘the President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

3 apparent successful candidate for the office 

4 of President’’; and 

5 (ii) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(III), by 

6 striking ‘‘the President-elect’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘the apparent successful candidate for 

8 the office of President’’; 

9 (3) in section 5, in the first sentence, by strik10 ing ‘‘Presidents-elect and Vice-Presidents-elect’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘apparent successful candidates (as deter12 mined by section 3(c))’’; 

13 (4) in section 6— 

14 (A) in subsection (a)— 

15 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (I) by striking ‘‘The President17 elect and Vice-President-elect’’ and in18 serting ‘‘Each apparent successful 

19 candidate (as determined by section 

20 3(c))’’; and 

21 (II) by striking ‘‘the President22 elect or Vice-President-elect’’ and in23 serting ‘‘the apparent successful can24 didate’’; 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘The 

2 President-elect and Vice-President-elect’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘Each apparent successful 

4 candidate’’; and 

5 (iii) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking 

6 ‘‘inauguration of the President-elect as 

7 President and the Vice-President-elect as 

8 Vice President’’ and inserting ‘‘inaugura9 tion of the apparent successful candidate 

10 for the office of President as President and 

11 the apparent successful candidate for the 

12 office of Vice-President as Vice President’’; 

13 (B) in subsection (b)(1)— 

14 (i) in the matter preceding subpara15 graph (A), by striking ‘‘The President-elect 

16 and Vice-President-elect’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Each apparent successful candidate’’; and 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

19 ‘‘the President-elect or Vice-President20 elect’s’’ and inserting ‘‘the apparent suc21 cessful candidate’s’’; and 

22 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘The 

23 President-elect and Vice-President-elect’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘Each apparent successful candidate’’; 

25 and 


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1 (5) in section 7(a)(1), by striking ‘‘the Presi2 dent-elect and Vice President-elect’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘the apparent successful candidates’’. 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, ETC. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Im7 provement Act of 2022’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

9 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title, etc. 

TITLE I—ELECTORAL COUNT REFORM ACT 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Time for appointing electors. 

Sec. 103. Clarification with respect to vacancies in electoral college. 

Sec. 104. Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors. 

Sec. 105. Duties of the Archivist. 

Sec. 106. Meeting of electors. 

Sec. 107. Transmission of certificates of votes. 

Sec. 108. Failure of certificate of votes to reach recipients. 

Sec. 109. Clarifications relating to counting electoral votes. 

Sec. 110. Rules relating to joint meeting. 

Sec. 111. Severability. 

TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION IMPROVEMENT ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Modifications to Presidential Transition Act of 1963. 

10 TITLE I—ELECTORAL COUNT 

11 REFORM ACT 

12 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Electoral Count Reform 

14 Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. TIME FOR APPOINTING ELECTORS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 3, United States Code, is 

3 amended by striking sections 1 and 2 and inserting the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘§ 1. Time of appointing electors 

6 ‘‘The electors of President and Vice President shall be 

7 appointed, in each State, on election day, in accordance 

8 with the laws of the State enacted prior to election day.’’. 

9 (b) ELECTION DAY.—Section 21 of title 3, United 

10 States Code, is amended by redesignating subsections (a) 

11 and (b) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively, and by in12 serting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(1) ‘election day’ means the Tuesday next after 

15 the first Monday in November, in every fourth year 

16 succeeding every election of a President and Vice 

17 President held in each State, except, in the case of a 

18 State that appoints electors by popular vote, if the 

19 State modifies the period of voting, as necessitated by 

20 force majeure events that are extraordinary and cata21 strophic, as provided under laws of the State enacted 

22 prior to such day, ‘election day’ shall include the 

23 modified period of voting.’’. 

24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

25 for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 


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1 by striking the item relating to section 1 and inserting the 

2 following: 

‘‘1. Time of appointing electors.’’. 

3 SEC. 103. CLARIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO VACANCIES IN 

4 ELECTORAL COLLEGE. 

5 Section 4 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 

6 by inserting ‘‘enacted prior to election day’’ after ‘‘by law’’. 

7 SEC. 104. CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAINMENT OF APPOINT8 MENT OF ELECTORS. 

9 (a) DETERMINATION.—Section 5 of title 3, United 

10 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘§ 5. Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of 

12 electors 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

14 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than the date 

15 that is 6 days before the time fixed for the meeting 

16 of the electors, the executive of each State shall issue 

17 a certificate of ascertainment of appointment of elec18 tors, under and in pursuance of the laws of such 

19 State providing for such appointment and ascertain20 ment enacted prior to election day. 

21 ‘‘(2) FORM OF CERTIFICATE.—Each certificate of 

22 ascertainment of appointment of electors shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) set forth the names of the electors ap24 pointed and the canvass or other determination 

25 under the laws of such State of the number of 


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1 votes given or cast for each person for whose ap2 pointment any and all votes have been given or 

3 cast; 

4 ‘‘(B) bear the seal of the State; and 

5 ‘‘(C) contain at least one security feature, 

6 as determined by the State, for purposes of 

7 verifying the authenticity of such certificate. 

8 ‘‘(b) TRANSMISSION.—It shall be the duty of the execu9 tive of each State— 

10 ‘‘(1) to transmit to the Archivist of the United 

11 States, immediately after the issuance of the certifi12 cate of ascertainment of appointment of electors and 

13 by the most expeditious method available, such certifi14 cate of ascertainment of appointment of electors; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to transmit to the electors of such State, on 

16 or before the day on which the electors are required 

17 to meet under section 7, six duplicate-originals of the 

18 same certificate. 

19 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF CERTIFICATE AS CONCLUSIVE.— 

20 For purposes of section 15: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(A) INITIAL CERTIFICATE.—Except as pro23 vided in subparagraph (B), the certificate of as24 certainment of appointment of electors issued 

25 pursuant to subsection (a)(1) shall be treated as 


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1 conclusive in Congress with respect to the deter2 mination of electors appointed by the State. 

3 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATES ISSUED PURSUANT TO

4 COURT ORDERS.—Any certificate of ascertain5 ment of appointment of electors required to be 

6 issued or revised by any State or Federal judi7 cial relief granted prior to the date of the meet8 ing of electors shall replace and supersede any 

9 other certificates submitted pursuant to this sec10 tion. 

11 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL QUES12 TIONS.—The determination of Federal courts on ques13 tions arising under the Constitution or laws of the 

14 United States with respect to a certificate of ascer15 tainment of appointment of electors shall be conclu16 sive in Congress. 

17 ‘‘(d) VENUE AND EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any action brought by an 

19 aggrieved candidate for President or Vice President 

20 that arises under the Constitution or laws of the 

21 United States with respect to the issuance of the cer22 tification required under section (a)(1), or the trans23 mission of such certification as required under sub24 section (b), shall be subject to the following rules: 


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1 ‘‘(A) VENUE.—The venue for such action 

2 shall be the Federal district court of the Federal 

3 district in which the State capital is located. 

4 ‘‘(B) 3-JUDGE PANEL.—Such action shall be 

5 heard by a district court of three judges, con6 vened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, 

7 United States Code, except that— 

8 ‘‘(i) the court shall be comprised of two 

9 judges of the circuit court of appeals in 

10 which the district court lies and one judge 

11 of the district court in which the action is 

12 brought; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) section 2284(b)(2) of such title 

14 shall not apply. 

15 ‘‘(C) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.—It shall be 

16 the duty of the court to advance on the docket 

17 and to expedite to the greatest possible extent the 

18 disposition of the action, consistent with all 

19 other relevant deadlines established by this chap20 ter and the laws of the United States. 

21 ‘‘(D) APPEALS.—Notwithstanding section 

22 1253 of title 28, United States Code, the final 

23 judgment of the panel convened under subpara24 graph (B) may be reviewed directly by the Su25 preme Court, by writ of certiorari granted upon 


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1 petition of any party to the case, on an expe2 dited basis, so that a final order of the court on 

3 remand of the Supreme Court may occur on or 

4 before the day before the time fixed for the meet5 ing of electors. 

6 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This sub7 section— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall be construed solely to establish 

9 venue and expedited procedures in any action 

10 brought by an aggrieved candidate for President 

11 or Vice President as specified in this subsection 

12 that arises under the Constitution or laws of the 

13 United States; and 

14 ‘‘(B) shall not be construed to preempt or 

15 displace any existing State or Federal cause of 

16 action.’’. 

17 (b) EXECUTIVE OF A STATE.—Section 21 of title 3, 

18 United States Code, as amended by section 102(b), is 

19 amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(3) ‘executive’ means, with respect to any State, 

22 the Governor of the State (or, in the case of the Dis23 trict of Columbia, the Mayor of the District of Colum24 bia), except when the laws or constitution of a State 

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1 ferent State executive to perform the duties identified 

2 under this chapter.’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) Section 9 of title 3, United States Code, is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘annex to each of the certificates 

6 one of the lists of the electors’’ and inserting ‘‘annex 

7 to each of the certificates of votes one of the certifi8 cates of ascertainment of appointment of electors’’. 

9 (2) The table of contents for chapter 1 of title 3, 

10 United States Code, is amended by striking the items 

11 relating to sections 5 inserting the following: 

‘‘5. Certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors.’’. 

12 SEC. 105. DUTIES OF THE ARCHIVIST. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of title 3, United States 

14 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘§ 6. Duties of Archivist 

16 ‘‘The certificates of ascertainment of appointment of 

17 electors received by the Archivist of the United States under 

18 section 5 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) be preserved for one year; 

20 ‘‘(2) be a part of the public records of such office; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(3) be open to public inspection.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

24 for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 


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1 by striking the items relating to section 6 and inserting 

2 the following: 

‘‘6. Duties of Archivist.’’. 

3 SEC. 106. MEETING OF ELECTORS. 

4 (a) TIME FOR MEETING.—Section 7 of title 3, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Monday’’ and inserting ‘‘Tues7 day’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘as the legislature of such State 

9 shall direct’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance with the 

10 laws of the State enacted prior to election day’’. 

11 (b) CLARIFICATION ON SEALING OF CERTIFICATES OF

12 VOTES.—Section 10 of such title is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘the certificates so made by them’’ and inserting ‘‘the cer14 tificates of votes so made by them, together with the annexed 

15 certificates of ascertainment of appointment of electors,’’. 

16 SEC. 107. TRANSMISSION OF CERTIFICATES OF VOTES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 11 of title 3, United States 

18 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘§ 11. Transmission of certificates by electors 

20 ‘‘The electors shall immediately transmit at the same 

21 time and by the most expeditious method available the cer22 tificates of votes so made by them, together with the annexed 

23 certificates of ascertainment of appointment of electors, as 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) One set shall be sent to the President of the 

2 Senate at the seat of government. 

3 ‘‘(2) Two sets shall be sent to the chief election 

4 officer of the State, one of which shall be held subject 

5 to the order of the President of the Senate, the other 

6 to be preserved by such official for one year and shall 

7 be a part of the public records of such office and shall 

8 be open to public inspection. 

9 ‘‘(3) Two sets shall be sent to the Archivist of the 

10 United States at the seat of government, one of which 

11 shall be held subject to the order of the President of 

12 the Senate and the other of which shall be preserved 

13 by the Archivist of the United States for one year and 

14 shall be a part of the public records of such office and 

15 shall be open to public inspection. 

16 ‘‘(4) One set shall be sent to the judge of the dis17 trict in which the electors shall have assembled.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

19 for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 

20 by striking the item relating to section 11 and inserting 

21 the following: 

‘‘11. Transmission of certificates by electors.’’. 

22 SEC. 108. FAILURE OF CERTIFICATE OF VOTES TO REACH 

23 RECIPIENTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12 of title 3, United States 

25 Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘, after the meeting of the elec2 tors shall have been held,’’ after ‘‘When’’; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘in December, after the meeting 

4 of the electors shall have been held,’’ and inserting ‘‘in 

5 December,’’; 

6 (3) by striking ‘‘or, if he be absent’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘or, if the President of the Senate be absent’’; 

8 (4) by striking ‘‘secretary of State’’ and insert 

9 ‘‘chief election officer of the State’’; 

10 (5) by striking ‘‘and list’’; 

11 (6) by striking ‘‘lodged with him’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘lodged with such officer’’; 

13 (7) by striking ‘‘his duty’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

14 duty of such chief election officer of the State’’; and 

15 (8) by striking ‘‘by registered mail’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘by the most expeditious method available’’. 

17 (b) CONTINUED FAILURE.—Section 13 of title 3, 

18 United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘, after the meeting of the elec20 tors shall have been held,’’ after ‘‘When’’; 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘in December, after the meeting 

22 of the electors shall have been held,’’ and inserting ‘‘in 

23 December,’’; 

24 (3) by striking ‘‘or, if he be absent’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘or, if the President of the Senate be absent’’; and 


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1 (4) by striking ‘‘that list’’ and inserting ‘‘that 

2 certificate’’. 

3 (c) ELIMINATION OF MESSENGER’S PENALTY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title 3, United States Code, is 

5 amended by striking section 14. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

7 contents for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, 

8 is amended by striking the item relating to section 14. 

9 SEC. 109. CLARIFICATIONS RELATING TO COUNTING ELEC10 TORAL VOTES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 15 of title 3, United States 

12 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘§ 15. Counting electoral votes in Congress 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Congress shall be in session on the 

15 sixth day of January succeeding every meeting of the elec16 tors. The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet 

17 in the Hall of the House of Representatives at the hour of 

18 1 o’clock in the afternoon on that day, and the President 

19 of the Senate shall be their presiding officer. 

20 ‘‘(b) POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF SENATE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) MINISTERIAL IN NATURE.—Except as other22 wise provided in this chapter, the role of the President 

23 of the Senate while presiding over the joint meeting 

24 shall be limited to performing solely ministerial du25 ties. 


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1 ‘‘(2) POWERS EXPLICITLY DENIED.—The Presi2 dent of the Senate shall have no power to solely deter3 mine, accept, reject, or otherwise adjudicate or resolve 

4 disputes over the proper list of electors, the validity 

5 of electors, or the votes of electors. 

6 ‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT OF TELLERS.—At the joint meet7 ing of the Senate and House of Representatives described 

8 in subsection (a), there shall be present two tellers pre9 viously appointed on the part of the Senate and two tellers 

10 previously appointed on the part of the House of Represent11 atives by the presiding officers of the respective chambers. 

12 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURE AT JOINT MEETING GENERALLY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President of the Senate 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) open the certificates and papers pur16 porting to be certificates of the votes of electors 

17 appointed pursuant to a certificate of ascertain18 ment of appointment of electors issued pursuant 

19 to section 5, in the alphabetical order of the 

20 States, beginning with the letter A; and 

21 ‘‘(B) upon opening any certificate, hand the 

22 certificate and any accompanying papers to the 

23 tellers, who shall read the same in the presence 

24 and hearing of the two Houses. 

25 ‘‘(2) ACTION ON CERTIFICATE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the reading of 

2 each certificate or paper, the President of the 

3 Senate shall call for objections, if any. 

4 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR OBJECTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) OBJECTIONS.—No objection shall 

6 be in order unless the objection— 

7 ‘‘(I) is made in writing; 

8 ‘‘(II) is signed by at least one-fifth 

9 of the Senators duly chosen and sworn 

10 and one-fifth of the Members of the 

11 House of Representatives duly chosen 

12 and sworn; and 

13 ‘‘(III) states clearly and concisely, 

14 without argument, one of the grounds 

15 listed under clause (ii). 

16 ‘‘(ii) GROUNDS FOR OBJECTIONS.—The 

17 only grounds for objections shall be as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(I) The electors of the State were 

20 not lawfully certified under a certifi21 cate of ascertainment of appointment 

22 of electors according to section 5(a)(1). 

23 ‘‘(II) The vote of one or more elec24 tors has not been regularly given. 

25 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION OF OBJECTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—When all objections 

2 so made to any vote or paper from a State 

3 shall have been received and read, the Sen4 ate shall thereupon withdraw, and such ob5 jections shall be submitted to the Senate for 

6 its decision; and the Speaker of the House 

7 of Representatives shall, in like manner, 

8 submit such objections to the House of Rep9 resentatives for its decision. 

10 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION.—No objection 

11 may be sustained unless such objection is 

12 sustained by separate concurring votes of 

13 each House. 

14 ‘‘(D) RECONVENING.—When the two Houses 

15 have voted, they shall immediately again meet, 

16 and the presiding officer shall then announce the 

17 decision of the questions submitted. No votes or 

18 papers from any other State shall be acted upon 

19 until the objections previously made to the votes 

20 or papers from any State shall have been finally 

21 disposed of. 

22 ‘‘(e) RULES FOR TABULATING VOTES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) COUNTING OF VOTES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (B)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) only the votes of electors who have 

2 been appointed under a certificate of ascer3 tainment of appointment of electors issued 

4 pursuant to section 5, or who have legally 

5 been appointed to fill a vacancy of any such 

6 elector pursuant to section 4, may be count7 ed; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) no vote of an elector described in 

9 clause (i) which has been regularly given 

10 shall be rejected. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The vote of an elector 

12 who has been appointed under a certificate of as13 certainment of appointment of electors issued 

14 pursuant to section 5 shall not be counted if— 

15 ‘‘(i) there is an objection which meets 

16 the requirements of subsection (d)(2)(B)(i); 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) each House affirmatively sustains 

19 the objection as valid. 

20 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF MAJORITY.—If the 

21 number of electors lawfully appointed by any State 

22 pursuant to a certificate of ascertainment of appoint23 ment of electors that is issued under section 5 is fewer 

24 than the number of electors to which the State is enti25 tled under section 3, or if an objection the grounds for 


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1 which are described in subsection (d)(2)(B)(ii)(I) has 

2 been sustained, the total number of electors appointed 

3 for the purpose of determining a majority of the whole 

4 number of electors appointed as required by the 

5 Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution shall be re6 duced by the number of electors whom the State has 

7 failed to appoint or as to whom the objection was sus8 tained. 

9 ‘‘(3) LIST OF VOTES BY TELLERS; DECLARATION

10 OF WINNER.—The tellers shall make a list of the votes 

11 as they shall appear from the said certificates; and 

12 the votes having been ascertained and counted accord13 ing to the rules in this subchapter provided, the result 

14 of the same shall be delivered to the President of the 

15 Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state of the 

16 vote, which announcement shall be deemed a sufficient 

17 declaration of the persons, if any, elected President 

18 and Vice President of the United States, and, together 

19 with a list of the votes, be entered on the Journals of 

20 the two Houses.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

22 for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 

23 by striking the item relating to section 15 and inserting 

24 the following: 

‘‘15. Counting electoral votes in Congress.’’. 


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1 SEC. 110. RULES RELATING TO JOINT MEETING. 

2 (a) LIMIT OF DEBATE IN EACH HOUSE.—Section 17 

3 of title 3, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘§ 17. Same; limit of debate in each House 

5 ‘‘When the two Houses separate to decide upon an ob6 jection pursuant to section 15(d)(2)(C)(i) that may have 

7 been made to the counting of any electoral vote or votes from 

8 any State, or other question arising in the matter— 

9 ‘‘(1) all such objections and questions permitted 

10 with respect to such State shall be considered at such 

11 time; 

12 ‘‘(2) each Senator and Representative may speak 

13 to such objections or questions five minutes, and not 

14 more than once; 

15 ‘‘(3) the total time for debate for all such objec16 tions and questions with respect to such State shall 

17 not exceed two hours in each House; and 

18 ‘‘(4) at the close of such debate, it shall be the 

19 duty of the presiding officer of each House to put the 

20 objections and questions to a vote without further de21 bate.’’. 

22 (b) PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE.—Section 18 of title 

23 3, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘under sec24 tion 15(d)(2)(C)(i)’’ after ‘‘motion to withdraw’’. 


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1 SEC. 111. SEVERABILITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 3, United States Code, is 

3 amended by inserting after section 21 the following new sec4 tion: 

5 ‘‘§ 22. Severability 

6 ‘‘If any provision of this chapter, or the applica7 tion of a provision to any person or circumstance, is 

8 held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this 

9 chapter, and the application of the provisions to any 

10 person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the 

11 holding.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

13 for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘22. Severability.’’. 

15 TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL 

16 TRANSITION IMPROVEMENT ACT 

17 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This title may be cited as ‘‘Presidential Transition 

19 Improvement Act’’. 

20 SEC. 202. MODIFICATIONS TO PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION 

21 ACT OF 1963. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Presidential Tran23 sition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended by strik24 ing subsection (c) and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(c)(1) APPARENT SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, the 

2 ‘apparent successful candidate’ for the office of Presi3 dent and Vice President, respectively, shall be deter4 mined as follows: 

5 ‘‘(i) If all but one eligible candidate for the 

6 office of President and one eligible candidate for 

7 the office of Vice President, respectively, concede 

8 the election, then the candidate for each such of9 fice who has not conceded shall be the apparent 

10 successful candidate for each such office. 

11 ‘‘(ii) If, on the date that is 5 days after the 

12 date of the election, more than one eligible can13 didate for the office of President has not conceded 

14 the election, then each of the remaining eligible 

15 candidates for such office and the office of Vice 

16 President who have not conceded shall be treated 

17 as the apparent successful candidates until such 

18 time as a single candidate for the office of Presi19 dent is treated as the apparent successful can20 didate pursuant to clause (iii) or clause (iv). 

21 ‘‘(iii) If a single candidate for the office of 

22 President or Vice President is determined by the 

23 Administrator to meet the qualifications under 

24 subparagraph (B), the Administrator may deter25 mine that such candidate shall solely be treated 


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1 as the apparent successful candidate for that of2 fice until such time as a single candidate for the 

3 office of President is treated as the apparent suc4 cessful candidate pursuant to clause (iv). 

5 ‘‘(iv) If a single candidate for the office of 

6 President or Vice President is the apparent suc7 cessful candidate for such office under subpara8 graph (C), that candidate shall solely be treated 

9 as the apparent successful candidate for that of10 fice. 

11 ‘‘(B) INTERIM DISCRETIONARY QUALIFICA12 TIONS.—On or after the date that is 5 days after the 

13 date of the election, the Administrator may determine 

14 that a single candidate for the office of President or 

15 Vice President shall be treated as the sole apparent 

16 successful candidate for that office pursuant to sub17 paragraph (A)(iii) if it is substantially certain the 

18 candidate will receive a majority of the pledged votes 

19 of electors, based on consideration of the following fac20 tors: 

21 ‘‘(i) The results of the election for such office 

22 in States in which significant legal challenges 

23 that could alter the outcome of the election in the 

24 State have been substantially resolved, such that 

25 the outcome is substantially certain. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The certified results of the election for 

2 such office in States in which the certification is 

3 complete. 

4 ‘‘(iii) The results of the election for such of5 fice in States in which there is substantial cer6 tainty of an apparent successful candidate based 

7 on the totality of the circumstances. 

8 ‘‘(C) MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub10 paragraph (A) or (B), a candidate shall be the 

11 sole apparent successful candidate for the office 

12 of President or Vice President pursuant to sub13 paragraph (A)(iv) for purposes of this Act if— 

14 ‘‘(I) the candidate receives a majority 

15 of pledged votes of electors of such office 

16 based on certifications by States of their 

17 final canvass, and the conclusion of any re18 counts, legal actions, or administrative ac19 tions pertaining to the results of the election 

20 for such office; 

21 ‘‘(II) in the case where subclause (I) is 

22 not met, the candidate receives a majority 

23 of votes of electors of such office at the meet24 ing and vote of electors under section 7 of 

25 title 3, United States Code; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) in the case where neither sub2 clause (I) or (II) is met, the candidate is 

3 declared as the person elected to such office 

4 at the joint session of Congress under sec5 tion 15 of title 3, United States Code. 

6 ‘‘(ii) CLARIFICATION IF STATE UNABLE TO

7 CERTIFY ELECTION RESULTS OR APPOINTS MORE

8 THAN ONE SLATE OF ELECTORS.—For purposes 

9 of subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (i), if a State 

10 is unable to certify its election results or a State 

11 appoints more than one slate of electors, the votes 

12 of the electors of such State shall not count to13 wards meeting the qualifications under such sub14 clauses. 

15 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF MULTIPLE POSSIBLE APPARENT SUC16 CESSFUL CANDIDATES.—During any period in which there 

17 is more than one possible apparent successful candidate for 

18 the office of President— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Administrator is authorized to provide, 

20 upon request, to each remaining eligible candidate for 

21 such office and the office of Vice President described 

22 in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) access to services and facili23 ties pursuant to this Act; 

24 ‘‘(B) the Administrator, in conjunction with the 

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1 tion 4(c) and the senior career employee of each agen2 cy and senior career employee of each major compo3 nent and subcomponent of each agency designated 

4 under subsection (f)(1) to oversee and implement the 

5 activities of the agency, component, or subcomponent 

6 relating to the Presidential transition, shall make ef7 forts to ensure that each such candidate is provided 

8 equal access to agency information and spaces as re9 quested pursuant to this Act; 

10 ‘‘(C) the Administrator shall provide weekly re11 ports to Congress containing a brief summary of the 

12 status of funds being distributed to such candidates 

13 under this Act, the level of access to agency informa14 tion and spaces provided to such candidates, and the 

15 status of such candidates with respect to meeting the 

16 qualifications to be the apparent successful candidate 

17 for the office of President or Vice President under sub18 paragraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1); and 

19 ‘‘(D) if a single candidate for the office of Presi20 dent or Vice President is treated as the apparent suc21 cessful candidate for such office pursuant to subpara22 graph (A)(iii) or (A)(iv) of paragraph (1), not later 

23 than 24 hours after such treatment is effective, the 

24 Administrator shall make available to the public a 

25 written statement that such candidate is treated as 


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1 the sole apparent successful candidate for such office 

2 for purposes of this Act, including a description of the 

3 legal basis and reasons for such treatment based on 

4 the qualifications under subparagraph (B) or (C) of 

5 paragraph (1), as applicable. 

6 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘eligi7 ble candidate’ has the meaning given that term in sub8 section (h)(4).’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Presidential 

10 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

11 (1) in section 3— 

12 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘PRESI13 DENTS-ELECT AND VICE-PRESIDENTS14 ELECT’’ and inserting ‘‘APPARENT SUCCESS15 FUL CANDIDATES’’; 

16 (B) in subsection (a)— 

17 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

18 (1)— 

19 (I) by striking ‘‘each President20 elect, each Vice-President-elect’’ and in21 serting ‘‘each apparent successful can22 didate for the office of President and 

23 Vice President (as determined by sub24 section (c))’’; and 


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1 (II) by striking ‘‘the President2 elect and Vice-President-elect’’ and in3 serting ‘‘each such candidate’’; 

4 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (I) by striking ‘‘the President6 elect, the Vice-President-elect’’ and in7 serting ‘‘the apparent successful can8 didate’’; and 

9 (II) by striking ‘‘the President10 elect or Vice-President-elect’’ and in11 serting ‘‘the apparent successful can12 didate’’; 

13 (iii) in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and 

14 (5), by striking ‘‘the President-elect or Vice15 President-elect’’ each place it appears and 

16 inserting ‘‘the apparent successful can17 didate’’; 

18 (iv) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking 

19 ‘‘the President-elect, the Vice-President-elect, 

20 or the designee of the President-elect or Vice21 President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘the appar22 ent successful candidate or their designee’’; 

23 (v) in paragraph (8), in subparagraph 

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1 ful candidate for the office of President’’; 

2 and 

3 (vi) in paragraph (10)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘any President5 elect, Vice-President-elect, or eligible 

6 candidate’’ and inserting ‘‘any appar7 ent successful candidate or eligible can8 didate’’; and 

9 (II) by striking ‘‘the President10 elect and Vice President-elect’’ and in11 serting ‘‘the apparent successful can12 didates’’; 

13 (C) in subsection (b)— 

14 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the 

15 President-elect or Vice-President-elect, or 

16 after the inauguration of the President-elect 

17 as President and the inauguration of the 

18 Vice-President-elect as Vice President’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘the apparent successful can20 didates, or after the inauguration of the ap21 parent successful candidate for the office of 

22 President as President and the inaugura23 tion of the apparent successful candidate for 

24 the office of Vice President as Vice Presi25 dent’’; and 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 

2 President-elect, Vice-President-elect’’ and in3 serting ‘‘the apparent successful candidate’’; 

4 (D) in subsection (d)— 

5 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

6 ‘‘Each President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘Each 

7 apparent successful candidate for the office 

8 of President’’; and 

9 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

10 ‘‘Each Vice-President-elect’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘Each apparent successful candidate for the 

12 office of Vice-President’’; 

13 (E) in subsection (e)— 

14 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

15 ‘‘Each President-elect and Vice-President16 elect’’ and inserting ‘‘Each apparent suc17 cessful candidate’’; and 

18 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘any President-elect or Vice-President-elect 

20 may be made upon the basis of a certificate 

21 by him or the assistant designated by him’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘any apparent successful can23 didate may be made upon the basis of a cer24 tificate by the candidate or their designee’’; 

25 (F) in subsection (f)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The 

2 President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘Any appar3 ent successful candidate for the office of 

4 President’’; and 

5 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘in6 auguration of the President-elect as Presi7 dent and the inauguration of the Vice-Presi8 dent-elect as Vice President’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘inauguration of the apparent successful 

10 candidate for the office of President as 

11 President and the inauguration of the ap12 parent successful candidate for the office of 

13 Vice President as Vice President’’; 

14 (G) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘In the 

15 case where the President-elect is the incumbent 

16 President or in the case where the Vice-Presi17 dent-elect is the incumbent Vice President’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘In the case where an apparent suc19 cessful candidate for the office of President is the 

20 incumbent President or in the case where an ap21 parent successful candidate for the office of Vice 

22 President is the incumbent Vice President’’; 

23 (H) in subsection (h)— 

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1 elect’’ and inserting ‘‘an apparent successful 

2 candidates’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (3)(B)(iii), by strik4 ing ‘‘the President-elect or Vice-President5 elect’’ and inserting ‘‘an apparent successful 

6 candidates’’; and 

7 (I) in subsection (i)(3)(C)— 

8 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘the inau9 guration of the President-elect as President 

10 and the inauguration of the Vice-President11 elect as Vice President’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

12 inauguration of the apparent successful 

13 candidate for the office of President as 

14 President and the inauguration of the ap15 parent successful candidate for the office of 

16 Vice President as Vice President’’; and 

17 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘upon 

18 request of the President-elect or the Vice19 President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘upon request 

20 of the apparent successful candidate’’; 

21 (2) in section 4— 

22 (A) in subsection (e)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 

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1 ful candidates (as determined by section 

2 3(c))’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking 

4 ‘‘the President-elect is inaugurated’’ and in5 serting ‘‘the apparent successful candidate 

6 for the office of President is inaugurated’’; 

7 and 

8 (B) in subsection (g)— 

9 (i) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking 

10 ‘‘the President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘the ap11 parent successful candidate for the office of 

12 President’’; and 

13 (ii) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(III), by 

14 striking ‘‘the President-elect’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘the apparent successful candidate for the 

16 office of President’’; 

17 (3) in section 5, in the first sentence, by striking 

18 ‘‘Presidents-elect and Vice-Presidents-elect’’ and in19 serting ‘‘apparent successful candidates (as deter20 mined by section 3(c))’’; 

21 (4) in section 6— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

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1 serting ‘‘Each apparent successful can2 didate (as determined by section 

3 3(c))’’; and 

4 (II) by striking ‘‘the President5 elect or Vice-President-elect’’ and in6 serting ‘‘the apparent successful can7 didate’’; 

8 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘The 

9 President-elect and Vice-President-elect’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘Each apparent successful 

11 candidate’’; and 

12 (iii) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking 

13 ‘‘inauguration of the President-elect as 

14 President and the Vice-President-elect as 

15 Vice President’’ and inserting ‘‘inaugura16 tion of the apparent successful candidate for 

17 the office of President as President and the 

18 apparent successful candidate for the office 

19 of Vice-President as Vice President’’; 

20 (B) in subsection (b)(1)— 

21 (i) in the matter preceding subpara22 graph (A), by striking ‘‘The President-elect 

23 and Vice-President-elect’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Each apparent successful candidate’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘the President-elect or Vice-President3 elect’s’’ and inserting ‘‘the apparent success4 ful candidate’s’’; and 

5 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘The 

6 President-elect and Vice-President-elect’’ and in7 serting ‘‘Each apparent successful candidate’’; 

8 and 

9 (5) in section 7(a)(1), by striking ‘‘the President10 elect and Vice President-elect’’ and inserting ‘‘the ap11 parent successful candidates’’. 


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Calendar No. 529 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4573 

A BILL 

To amend title 3, United States Code, to reform 

or Vice President. for the assumption of official duties as President ices for use in connection with the preparations provided by the Administrator of General Servguidelines for when and to whom resources are dential Transition Act of 1963 to provide clear the Electoral Count Act, and to amend the PresiOCTOBER 18, 2022 

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of 

October 14, 2022, with an amendment 


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