Re: The Aug. 6 commentary by Mary E. Small, “Reform of Electoral Count Act will protect elections for years to come”:

A woman takes part in March On For Voting Rights in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 2021. Moore v. Harper may supersede any reforms put in place under the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022. Johnny Silvercloud/Shutterstock.com

The proposed bipartisan reforms in the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022, designed to safeguard the peaceful transfer of power of the presidency, may not do enough to ensure that the will of the voters is safeguarded.

Later this year the Supreme Court will hear a case, Moore v. Harper, which, among other things, will consider a controversial constitutional theory known as the “independent state legislature” doctrine. If embraced by the court, judiciaries at the state level could be compelled to surrender electoral oversight authority to the legislatures, opening the door to circumvention of a modernized Electoral Count Act.

With unchecked power, state legislators in key swing states would be in a position to reject the voters’ slate of electors and appoint their handpicked substitutes. This goes beyond voter suppression initiatives, underway in several states. It is election nullification, plain and simple, and must never be enacted. Our republic, in place since 1789, may not survive if it is.

Jim Paladino
Tampa, Fla.

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