Every time I start I start to feel the ship is going to right itself I find the fucking Electoral College is able to sink it. A Right Wing friend assured me the Framers put this in to prevent some cult like movement in populous states electing a wacko. “Hmmmm isn’t that what happened?” Steam started blowing from his ears I think.
www.reuters.com/…
Some election law experts are concerned that an unprecedented volume of mailed-in votes and legal challenges will delay the outcome of the election for weeks, creating an extended period of uncertainty.
Trump has repeatedly said the election is rigged and made unfounded attacks on mail-in voting, which tends to favor Democrats.
If early returns show a Trump lead, experts say the president could press Republican-controlled legislatures to appoint electors favorable to him, claiming the initial vote count reflects the true outcome.
Governors in those same states could end up backing a separate slate of electors pledged to Biden if the final count showed the Democratic candidate had won.
Both sets of electors would meet and vote on Dec. 14 and the competing results would be sent to Congress.
Which set of electors would prevail?
Both chambers of Congress could accept the same slate of electors, which would almost certainly put the matter to rest.
The chambers could also split, which is more likely if the Republicans retain control of the Senate and Democrats hold onto their House majority.
If lawmakers cannot agree on a set of electors, the country will find itself in uncharted territory.
The Electoral Count Act, often described by academics as “unintelligible,” seems to favor the slate of electors certified by the state’s governor, according to Ned Foley, a professor at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
But Foley notes that some scholars and an analysis by the Congressional Research Service have rejected that conclusion.
Academics have sketched out several scenarios. Under one, Pence as president of the Senate could throw out both sets of a state’s electors. Another contemplates that the House of Representatives would end up choosing between Biden and Trump. There is even a scenario in which the Speaker of the House, currently Democrat Nancy Pelosi, could become acting president.
Would the U.S. Supreme Court get involved?
The Supreme Court may be called upon to interpret the Electoral College Act to break any deadlock.
A Supreme Court ruling helped resolve the 2000 election in favor of George Bush over Al Gore, but that case was about a recount in Florida and the decision was reached before electors met to cast their votes.
“I think there will be legal challenges,” said Jessica Levinson, director of Loyola Law School’s Public Service Institute. “But I could see a court saying this would really be better left up to Congress.”
Has this happened before?
In 1876, dueling electors in three states were deadlocked until a deal was brokered days before Inauguration Day.
The dispute was resolved after Republican Rutherford B. Hayes became president in exchange for withdrawing U.S. troops left over from the Civil War from Southern states.
“I hope it’s a very low probability event but 1876 is a reminder that it is not zero and we have come very close to falling over that cliff in our history,” Foley said.
For Further insight as to why the Electoral college should go;
www.democracynow.org/...