Several legal and political situations in which the presidency can be determined

What happens in the event of a dispute over the outcome of the US elections?

Congress adjudicates the dispute between the two candidates.

Archives

US President Donald Trump said, without evidence, that the unprecedented numbers of mail-in ballots would lead to widespread fraud on the part of Democrats in the November 3rd presidential election.

The president has also repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if the vote count indicates that he lost to Democratic rival Joe Biden.

The comments raised Democrats' concern that the Trump campaign would seek to challenge the election results.

This could lead to one of several legal and political situations in which the presidency could be determined by a combination of courts and state politicians.

Here are some messy scenarios that could happen:

- Lawsuits:

Early voting data shows Democrats are voting by mail in greater numbers than Republicans.

And in states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which do not mail ballots until Election Day, experts say the preliminary results may favor Trump, while the slower postal ballots are expected to be in Biden's favor.

Democrats expressed concern that Trump would declare victory on election night, and then claim that mail ballots that are being counted in the following days are tainted with fraud.

The convergence of results could lead to litigation over voting and vote counting procedures in crucial states.

Cases filed in individual states could eventually reach the Supreme Court, as happened in the Florida elections in 2000, when Republican George W. Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore by just 537 votes in Florida, after the Supreme Court halted the reinstatement process. Screening.

The Electoral College:

The President of the United States is not elected by a majority of the popular vote.

Under the constitution, the candidate who wins the majority of the 538 electoral college votes becomes the country's next president.

And in 2016, Trump lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton, but won 304 electoral college votes to 227.

Usually, the candidate who wins the popular vote in each state wins the votes for that state at the electoral college.

This year, councilors meet on December 14th to cast their votes.

The two houses of Congress meet on January 6 to count the votes and announce the result. Usually, state governors certify the results in their states, and they inform Congress of the information.

But some academics have defined a scenario in which the governor and the legislature in a state experiencing closely-knit competition present two different outcomes.

And in crucial states, such as: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, Democratic governors and legislatures, controlled by the Republicans.

According to legal experts, in this scenario it is unclear whether Congress should accept the results, presented by the governor, or not count the state's electoral votes at all.

While most experts see this scenario as unlikely, there is a historical precedent.

The Republican-controlled Florida legislature was considering presenting its findings in 2000, before the Supreme Court ended the Bush-Gore dispute.

Emergency elections

If it is decided that none of the candidates will obtain the majority of votes in the Electoral College, then this would lead to "emergency elections", according to Article 12 of the Constitution.

This means that the House of Representatives will choose the next president, while the Senate will choose the vice president.

Emergency elections are also held in the event of a tie, with each candidate having 269 votes after the elections.

There are several possible paths that could lead to a dead end in elections in 2020. Any electoral dispute in Congress will end before the deadline of January 20, the date on which the constitution stipulates the end of the term of the current president.

Under the Presidential Succession Act, if Congress has not declared the winner, the office of president or vice president, by then, the speaker of the House of Representatives will be the acting president.

This position is currently occupied by Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

538

One vote in the electoral college .. the candidate must win the majority.

Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news