H.R. 8873 · 117th Congress

Presidential Election Reform Act

Introduced on Sep 19, 2022 by Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19). One cosponsor. Latest action (Sep 22, 2022): Received in the Senate.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Sep 19, 2022
Cosponsors
1
1 from the other party
Policy area
Government Operations and Politics
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend title 3, United States Code, to reform the process for the counting of electoral votes, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Civil actions and liability
  • Congressional officers and employees
  • Congressional operations and organization
  • Congressional oversight
  • Constitution and constitutional amendments
  • Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
  • Federal district courts
  • Federal officials
  • Government information and archives
  • Intergovernmental relations
  • Legislative rules and procedure
  • Natural disasters
  • Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
  • State and local government operations
  • Supreme Court
  • Terrorism
  • Voting rights

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Sep 21, 2022). Public domain.

Presidential Election Reform Act

This bill revises the process of casting and counting electoral votes for presidential elections.

The bill specifies that the choice of electors must occur in accordance with the laws of the state enacted prior to election day.

Next, the bill specifies that the voting time for a state's presidential election may only be extended due to a catastrophic event. Catastrophic event means a major natural disaster, act of terrorism, or widespread power outage if it (1) prevents a substantial portion of a state's electorate from casting a ballot on election day, or (2) causes a substantial number of ballots already cast in a state to be destroyed or rendered unreadable.

Additionally, the bill requires each state's governor to certify the appointment of electors for the state. Further, the bill provides for expedited judicial review for an action brought by an aggrieved presidential or vice-presidential candidate with respect to the issuance or transmission of a certificate of appointment.

The bill revises the framework for the joint session of Congress to count electoral votes and make a formal declaration of which candidates have been elected President and Vice President. Among other changes, the bill (1) specifies that the role of the presiding officer (the Vice President or, in the absence of the Vice President, the President pro tempore) during the joint session shall be ministerial in nature, and (2) raises the objection threshold in Congress to at least one-third of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Zoe LofgrenD-CA-19Sponsor

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Passage
    Sep 21, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 229–203

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Sep 19, 2022Introduced in House
  2. Sep 19, 2022Introduced in House
  3. Sep 19, 2022 · HouseReferred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  4. Sep 19, 2022 · HouseReferred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  5. Sep 20, 2022 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 1372 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 8873 with 1 hour of general debate. Resolution also provides one motion to recommit.
  6. Sep 21, 2022 · HouseRule H. Res. 1372 passed House.
  7. Sep 21, 2022 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 1372. (consideration: CR H8032-8048)
  8. Sep 21, 2022 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 8873 with 1 hour of general debate. Resolution also provides one motion to recommit.
  9. Sep 21, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 8873.
  10. Sep 21, 2022 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  11. Sep 21, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 229 - 203 (Roll No. 449).(text: CR H8032-8036)House · Roll call 449
  12. Sep 21, 2022 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 229 - 203 (Roll No. 449). (text: CR H8032-8036)House · Roll call 449
  13. Sep 21, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  14. Sep 22, 2022 · SenateReceived in the Senate.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. Service Employees International Union CTW-CLC2 reports
    $484.5K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2023, 2024.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.