Senators involved in the monthslong effort say they’re getting close to a deal. Their goal is passing legislation on the Electoral Count Act by the end of the year, well in advance of the 2024 campaign — and before House Republicans are poised to take power with little interest in addressing the topic. But any standalone bill they can get through the Senate could compete for attention and floor time with the Jan. 6 committee’s still-unreleased legislative recommendations…

Senate negotiators on the proposal, led on the Democratic side by West Virginia’s Sen. Joe Manchin, are seeking to clarify that the vice president’s role in the certification of electoral votes is simply ministerial. In other words, their final product would effectively cut off the argument that Trump backers used to try to overturn his loss to Joe Biden.

Collins said the bipartisan group circulated text three weeks ago and expects the Senate Rules Committee to take up the bill. Their plan also seeks to raise the threshold required for members of Congress to challenge election results; clarify arcane language in the law related to a “failed election”; direct the Postal Service to develop best practices for handling absentee ballots; and specify who can submit a slate of electors from any particular state.

Even if the group can finalize language in the coming days — it held a pivotal meeting Wednesday evening — the timing for final passage of their bill is far from clear.