Several scenarios if Trump and Biden disagree with the election result
Trump and Biden ... a frenzied contest in the elections.
A.F.B.
US President Donald Trump's announcement of a premature victory over his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden in the presidential elections, yesterday, despite the incomplete results, confirmed the concerns of Democrats that they expressed weeks ago, indicating that Trump is seeking to contest the results, and the dispute over the election result may lead to legal drama And a political one in which the presidency may be determined by a mixture of courts, state politicians and Congress.
Here are some messy scenarios that could happen:
- Lawsuits
Early voting data shows that Democrats are voting by mail in much greater numbers than Republicans.
And in states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which do not mail ballots until Election Day, experts say the initial results may favor Trump, while the slower postcards that are counted are expected to favor Biden.
Democrats have expressed concern that Trump will declare his victory, as he did yesterday, before these votes are counted.
The convergence of results could lead to litigation over voting and vote counting procedures in crucial states.
Cases filed in individual states could ultimately reach the Supreme Court, as happened in the Florida election in 2000, when Republican George W. Bush beat Democrat Al Gore by just 537 votes in Florida after the Supreme Court halted the recount.
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.
In 2016, Trump lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton but won 304 electoral college votes to 227.
Typically, a candidate who wins the popular vote in each state wins that state's votes in the Electoral College.
This year, assembly members meet on December 14th to cast their votes.
The Houses of Congress meet on January 6th to count the votes and announce the winner.
Usually, state governors certify results in their state and share information with Congress.
But some academics have defined a scenario in which the governor and the legislature in a state experiencing closely-knit rivalry present two different outcomes.
- «emergency elections»
If it is decided that none of the candidates will receive a majority of votes in the electoral college, this would lead to "emergency elections" under the Twelfth Amendment to 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 an impasse in elections in 2020. Any electoral dispute in Congress will end before the deadline of January 20, when the constitution stipulates the end of the presidential term.
Under the Presidential Succession Act, if Congress does not announce the winner of the presidential or vice presidential position by then, the speaker of the House of Representatives will be the acting president, and that position is currently held by Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
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