Throughout its recent history, the presidential elections have known a phenomenon that keeps American citizens in front of screens waiting for the news of the winning candidate receiving a phone call from the losing candidate congratulating him on his victory and wishing him and America all the best and progress.
Despite the heated electoral campaigns and the objective and personal attacks they witness from each side against the other, the results fold over the political conflict between the two parties, and a transitional phase that extends for weeks begins to transfer power to the winning party.
The importance of this procedural process doubles if the losing party is the current president of the United States. This happened in 1980 when Democratic President Jimmy Carter lost, and it was repeated in 1992 when Republican President George HW Bush lost.
Prior skepticism of the results
President Donald Trump does not seem to believe in the need to follow the established American traditions, as he did not pledge to accept the election results and congratulate Joe Biden in the event of his loss, as has been the practice throughout American history.
President Trump's calls to postpone the presidential elections scheduled for next November 3, and his previous refusal to pledge to respect their results, prompted many to expect an unprecedented constitutional crisis.
For the first time, a president doubts the authority about the results of future elections, which pushes to undermine American democracy and cause a crisis of confidence in its political system and procedures, which led to questions about the army's position on a future crisis.
Al-Jazeera Net reviews, in the form of a question and answer, scenarios for the transfer of power in the United States, and what role can the US Congress or courts play if the elections ended with a procedural crisis that hindered knowing the winning candidate, and where does the US military stand in these political debates?
Has America known crises related to elections before?
Yes, America has known procedural problems throughout its history with regard to elections in terms of preventing some people from reaching the polls, questioning the legitimacy of results, raising legal challenges, and forcing voters to stand in long lines.
But none of them caused a crisis in the true sense except in the 2000 elections when the Supreme Constitutional Court settled the results of the Florida elections and recounted the votes, which led to the victory of the Republican candidate, George Bush, for the presidency.
What are the reasons for rising fears of a looming crisis over the upcoming election results?
President Donald Trump is reiterating his doubts about the postal voting process, which is expected to be widely used in the upcoming elections, and reiterates concerns about electoral fraud if voting is expanded by mail.
The spread of the new Corona virus has prompted many states to rely on postal voting, fearing the repercussions of personal voting on virus transmission and the rise in infections.
Trump is refusing to pledge to admit defeat and accept any possible outcome of the presidential election.
What is Trump's position on the peaceful transfer of power?
During the second presidential debate that brought together President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, candidate Trump refused to pledge to accept the election results and to bless his opponent's victory if he lost the race.
In response to a question from veteran broadcaster Chris Wallace if he was prepared to accept defeat in the event of his loss, Trump said, "We will see what can be done at this moment, I cannot confirm to you now to respond."
The 2016 elections did not witness widespread mail-in voting, and there were no concerns about the results of electoral fraud.
Trump repeated the same position weeks ago in an interview with the same broadcaster for Fox News, Chris Wallace, in which he admitted that he did not like defeat, and said, "I am not a good loser, I do not like to suffer defeats, I do not lose much and I do not like to lose," stressing that he will not accept the results in advance. .
What about Joe Biden's reaction to Trump's position?
Joe Biden said he was "completely convinced" that the military would intervene to remove President Donald Trump from the White House, should the latter lose the election and refuse to leave.
During a television interview with Trevor Noah’s comedy show, Biden responded to a question about the possibility of Trump refusing to leave the White House after the election if he was defeated by saying, “Yes, I thought about the possibility of Trump refusing to leave, I am absolutely sure that the military will accompany him outside the White House in large numbers. ".
At the same meeting, Biden warned of the possibility that Trump would steal the presidential election, and added that Trump's opposition to electronic voting amid the outbreak of the Corona virus is part of his efforts to deny citizens the right to vote.
Why Trump attacks the vote by mail?
US President Donald Trump tweeted weeks ago and said that "expanding the postal vote would be bad for the Republican Party," as Trump realizes that the mail vote will benefit his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, so he attacks the idea.
Traditionally, the poor and minorities do not participate significantly in voting in the traditional personal manner, compared to the high percentages of the white majority.
These marginalized groups voted in greater proportions for the Democrats, and this is the essence of the objection of Trump and the Republicans, as postal voting will primarily serve the Democratic Party, by expanding the numbers of minority and poor voters.
Why did Trump demand to postpone the elections, and does he have the right to postpone it?
There is no specific goal in Trump's request to postpone the elections, as legal experts in both the Democratic and Republican parties emphasize the president's inability, legally or constitutionally, to take this step.
Constitutionally, presidential elections can only be postponed or canceled under extreme circumstances, and since the date for the presidential elections was agreed in 1845, the United States has not experienced these conditions even while it was involved in two world wars.
The president enjoys a lot of powers in the US political system, but not with regard to elections, and elections can be postponed through a new constitutional amendment approved by Congress by a two-thirds majority, and this is an impossible scenario.
Constitutional Amendment No. 20 of 1933 recognizes "the termination of the service of the president and vice president on January 20, even if elections are not held."
What is the reason for calling the army’s intervention in the presidential election debate?
The military intervened in the political debate after Elisa Slotkin and Micky Sherrill, both Democratic representatives from the House of Representatives, directed written questions to both US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, about concern that Trump refused to voluntarily leave office or try to use the military. To hold on to power in the event that the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, wins the elections.
General Milley distanced the army from political debates, and responded with an official letter stating that "in the event of a dispute over aspects of the elections, according to the law, the US courts and Congress are the two demands that any dispute be resolved, not the US military."
What is the position of the framers of the Constitution on the political role of the US armed forces?
The founders of the American state feared the army would interfere in political life, and the constitution limited any possibility of unelected military officers controlling the government.
The constitution defines precisely the responsibilities of the elected president, the head of which is that he is the commander in chief of the armed forces.
On the other hand, Americans are confident that their army is not motivated by internal political or partisan whims.
What is the role of the US military in the transition process?
There is no role for the army. And the law specified referring to US courts and up to the Supreme Constitutional Court to resolve any dispute over the identity of the winning candidate in the event of a crisis in the counting or counting of votes, or if a candidate does not admit defeat.
The constitution did not give the army any role in the political transition process. Rather, the constitution specified the defense minister that he should be a civilian person. It also stripped the chief of staff of any political powers and made the position weak with which the president could dismiss him by tweet or phone call.
What are the laws governing the transfer of authority from one department to a new administration?
There is a series of federal laws that regulate this process, the most important of which are the Presidential Transition Laws of 1963 No. (88-277), the Effectiveness of Presidential Transitions of 1998 No. (100-398), the Presidential Transition of 2000 (106-293), as well as the Presidential Transition Law before the elections. For the year 2010 (111-283) and the 2015 presidential transitions improvements (114-136).
These laws provided formal mechanisms to facilitate presidential transitions, including providing $ 5 million to support the transitional team, providing training and mentoring for new government employees, and other measures to ensure an orderly transition.
What is the position of the leaders of the Republican Party on Trump's statements?
Republican party leaders known for being close to President Trump rejected his calls, whether those calling for the elections to be postponed or his early skepticism about the results.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, "We should go ahead with our elections ... We should never, ever, have elections on the day that we set."
Meanwhile, Mish McConnell, leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, stressed that "we have to trust the system and procedures for the presidential elections, and that there is no reason to question their results."
What is the constitution’s position on the president’s refusal to leave office?
The constitution deals with ways of dealing with a president who refuses to leave office through the twentieth amendment to the constitution, which stipulates that "the term of office of the president and vice president shall end at noon on the twentieth day of January."
The clear instructions in US law dictate the alternative line. If a new president is not elected, power goes to the speaker of the House of Representatives temporarily until new elections are held.
What if there is a crisis in the counting and counting of the votes that did not know the identity of the winning candidate?
This is a possible scenario, with some commentators questioning the efficiency of the US Postal Service to handle millions of ballot papers in a short period of time.
In the event that this scenario occurs, Donald Trump's presidency ends at midday on January 20, and Nancy Pelosi, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, will assume the US presidency temporarily until new elections are agreed upon.