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Trump has been claiming that the voting was flawed and there were many problems. At this point (December 16th, 2020), the Electoral College vote has been completed and Biden won. Is there any legally possible way for Trump to still turn this election or is it past the point of no return?

(I understand that this is very improbable. I am simply interested in what could theoretically happen over here.)

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  • 14
    Would Trump launching a military coup count as "legal"?
    – nick012000
    Dec 17, 2020 at 10:46
  • 10
    Hmmm. OP, are you secretly a member of the Trump campaign legal team?
    – ARich
    Dec 18, 2020 at 2:38
  • @ARich even if I was I probably wouldn't tell you :)
    – Burt
    Dec 18, 2020 at 20:03
  • @nick012000: Would Trump have enough support among those "losers" and "suckers" to even attempt a coup?
    – jamesqf
    Dec 19, 2020 at 2:43
  • The Q's tail end "just asking questions" seems disingenuous.
    – agc
    Dec 20, 2020 at 6:10

1 Answer 1

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At this point (after the Electoral College has voted), Trump would have to convince a majority of the members of each the House and the Senate to get another term. Those majorities would have to agree to toss out enough electoral votes from states they wish to contest to prevent Biden from reaching 270.

At that point, the House of Representatives would get to vote for president, with each state getting one vote. That could result in Trump winning, though the margins would be tight and some reps could get cold feet about circumventing the will of their state's voters.

If the house's state delegations cannot agree to a majority, the Speaker of the House would assume office when Trump and Pence's turn expires on Jan 20th 2021.

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    The first step is to find one Senator to challenge the EC vote, several House members appear to be on board already. That then throws it to the vote in both houses. independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/…
    – Jontia
    Dec 17, 2020 at 13:34
  • Unless the Senate picks a VP by then, no?
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Dec 17, 2020 at 15:41
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    @mast the contingent election for the VP is decided in the Senate, where each Senator gets a vote.
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Dec 17, 2020 at 20:25
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    "though the margins would be tight and some reps could get cold feet about circumventing the will of their state's voters." Would it require reps going against how their state voted?
    – Acccumulation
    Dec 17, 2020 at 22:16
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    @Acccumulation Yes, Biden won 25 states + DC. Because DC has no rep in this case, at least one Biden state would have to defect to give Trump the win. Candidates would be WI and PA, who have majority-R delegations, and MI and GA, which are tied.
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Dec 17, 2020 at 23:43

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