Once a state has certified the results of its presidential vote, they can only be rejected through a majority vote of both houses of Congress. It’s more that he’d have a hard time actually succeeding. It’s not that Trump would likely have qualms about brazenly defying election results, of course. In reality, if Trump is going to stay in power illegitimately, it’s far likelier to be by undermining the election on the front end, through a mix of old-fashioned voter suppression and the spreading of misinformation. More important, it’s likely to shift attention away from the much greater threat. First, it could demoralize some potential voters by making them fear, wrongly, their votes won’t matter anyway. (To be clear, the Trump administration doesn’t have the power to suspend or cancel the election, which can only be done through an act of Congress).īut we shouldn’t let this kind of authoritarian power-grab scenario become the prime focus of media and public concern about the election. Meanwhile, Jared Kushner declined to confirm, when asked recently, that the election will be held at all. His recent barrage of false tweets about mail-in voting - “Democrats are trying to Rig the 2020 Election, plain and simple!” he wrote last month - appears clearly aimed at delegitimizing the vote in advance, and there’s evidence that this effort is having the intended effect on some of his supporters. There are numerous examples of his utter disregard for the rule of law, from the abuse of power that led to his impeachment to his unprecedented attacks on peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. Trump has several times “ joked” about serving more than his constitutionally permitted two terms, and has often expressed admiration for authoritarian leaders who have sidelined democracy to stay in power. Unfortunately, there’s good reason for the concern, and the planning that’s being undertaken by Democrats and good-government advocates to address scenarios like these is necessary and important. Trump “may well resort to any kind of trick, ploy, or scheme he can in order to hold onto his presidency,” Bob Bauer, a veteran Democrat election lawyer and Joe Biden’s personal attorney, has said. In case you didn’t have enough to worry about, opponents of President Trump are starting to go public with a fear that has long lurked just beneath the surface of America’s political conversation: that he will refuse to accept the legitimacy of an electoral defeat, or use some extra-legal means to stay in power, triggering a constitutional crisis. Attend the Brennan Legacy Awards Dinner.Advance Constitutional Change Show / hide.National Task Force on Democracy Reform & the Rule of Law. Government Targeting of Minority Communities Show / hide.Campaign Finance in the Courts Show / hide.Gerrymandering & Fair Representation Show / hide.Ensure Every American Can Vote Show / hide.
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