This program is eligible for 1 hour of CLE credit in 60-minute states. In 50-minute states, this program is eligible for 1.2 hours of CLE credit. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.
Overview
The 2024 presidential election is likely to be one of the most contentious ever.
In advance of the 2024 election, Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 which updates the Electoral Count Act (ECA) of 1887, the law that provides the primary legal framework for casting and counting Electoral College votes in presidential elections.
The bipartisan ECRA addresses the most concerning weaknesses in the old law by:
- Prohibiting state legislatures from changing the law after Election Day to overrule their voters and the results of the popular election
- Providing procedures to resolve disputes about electors and election certifications before those disputes reach Congress
- Strictly limiting opportunities for members of Congress to second-guess states’ certified election results
- Clarifying the vice president’s ministerial role in the counting of electoral votes and reinforcing that the vice president does not decide election results
In this program, Judge Robert J. Cindrich and Judge John Jones, leaders of civic education non-profit Keep Our Republic, focus on the ECRA and how it may have an impact on the 2024 election.
Their discussion will examine:
- Delays in certifying elections
- Interference with meeting of electors
- Disputes over the election outcome
- Resolution of disputes at the January 6 Joint Session
Co-sponsored with Keep Our Republic. Founded in 2020, Keep Our Republic is a non-partisan civic action organization dedicated to protecting a republic of laws and strengthening the checks and balances of our democratic electoral system.
Recorded in October 2024.
Faculty
Hon. John E. Jones III, (Ret.)
John E. Jones III serves as the 30th president of Dickinson College. He was named interim president of Dickinson in summer 2021. Jones previously served as chair of Dickinson’s board of trustees and retired as chief judge of the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in 2002. Jones presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover School District, after which he held that it was unconstitutional to teach intelligent design within a public school science curriculum. He also resolved the matter of Whitewood v. Wolf by striking down as unconstitutional Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage. Jones co-chaired Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Ridge’s transition team and served as chair of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Jones has received numerous accolades during his career. In 2006, Time Magazine named him as one of its Time 100 most influential people in the world. He was the recipient of the first John Marshall Judicial Independence Award given by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He also received the Geological Society of America’s President’s Medal and was inducted into the George Washington Spirit Society. An engaged alumnus and champion of the liberal arts, Jones was presented with an honorary doctorate in law and public policy from Dickinson College, where he also was recognized as one of the 25 most influential graduates in the college’s history. Born and raised in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, he is a graduate of Mercersburg Academy, Dickinson College and Penn State Dickinson Law. He and his wife Beth have two children, Meghan and John and three grandchildren.
Hon. Robert J. Cindrich (Ret.)
Judge Cindrich was appointed by President Bill Clinton and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Previously, he served in the Army Reserve, worked as both a Public Defender and Assistant District Attorney in Allegheny County. From 1978-1981, he was US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He served as a U.S. District Court Judge from 1994-2004 and then as Chief Legal Counsel to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He presently serves on the Pennsylvania Advisory Council for Keep Our Republic and has his own consulting firm in Zelienople.
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