House passes bill to protect future elections

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The House passes presidential election reforms; Unrest grows in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

The House plan to prevent another January 6

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• Wednesday, the House passed reforms to the Electoral Count Act, in hopes of preventing state officials or lawmakers from subverting future presidential elections. [CNN / Annie Grayer, Jessica Dean, Kristin Wilson, and Daniella Diaz]
• Nine Republicans joined Democrats to pass the update 229 to 203. The bill’s sponsors, Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) serve on the panel investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. [The Hill / Mychael Schnell and Rebecca Beitsch]
• The legislation clarifies that the vice president only has a ceremonial role in certifying election results. After the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump and his allies pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to meddle with certification. [New York Times / Carl Hulse]
• It also increases the threshold for congressional objections to a state’s results to one-third of the House and the Senate, up from just one member of each chamber. [USA Today / Bart Jansen]
• The Senate is weighing a different election reform bill with enough bipartisan support to become law; the House and the Senate would have to reconcile both versions. [Axios / Andrew Solender]
• Meanwhile, the January 6 committee will hold its final public hearing on September 28. [Reuters / Patricia Zengerle]

📍 Go deeper

Read one more thing: Vox’s Ben Jacobs explains how changes to election laws could protect democracy in future presidential elections. [Vox / Ben Jacobs]

Iran anti-government protests worsen

• At least nine people have died in Iran since protests erupted last week over the death of a young woman in police custody. [Associated Press]
• Furious protesters in dozens of towns and cities clashed with Iranian security forces Thursday in widespread anti-government demonstrations. [NYT / Cora Engelbrecht and Farnaz Fassihi]
• 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died last Friday after Iran’s morality police arrested her on September 13 in Tehran for allegedly violating hijab laws that dictate how women can dress. [BBC / David Gritten]
• Authorities claim Amini suffered heart failure and fell into a coma while in detention; however, her family said she had no history of health problems. [CNN / Jessie Yeung, Jomana Karadsheh, Ramin Mostaghim, and Sahar Akbarzai]
• The US government on Thursday sanctioned Iran’s morality police over its abuse of women and protesters. [Reuters]

A state judge on Thursday blocked Indiana’s near-total abortion ban, pending a challenge from abortion providers. [CNN / Veronica Stracqualursi]

• Virginia Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has agreed to appear before the House committee investigating January 6. [NYT / Luke Broadwater and Maggie Haberman]
• Over 1,300 people were arrested in Russia Wednesday during demonstrations over President Vladimir Putin’s decision to mobilize troops for war against Ukraine. [Guardian]
• An appeals court restored the Justice Department’s access to classified documents seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]

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“The bottom line is if you want to object to the vote, you’d better have your colleagues and the Constitution on your side.”

[Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) on the House election reform bill / NYT]

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