95
votes
Accepted
In what way would invoking martial law have helped Trump overturn the 2020 election?
Mobilizing the army to change the outcome of an election is an established practice that has a long history across the world. It is called a coup.
During a coup it is common practice to "modify&...
- 13k
55
votes
Accepted
Given a 4-4 tie, how would the Supreme Court determine results for a contested election?
Most cases never go straight to the Supreme Court; it only has original jurisdiction over a very small subset of cases, as described in the US Constitution. Outside of those areas, they are always ...
- 27.8k
48
votes
How does Rita Hart know that 22 votes weren't counted?
According to the notice of contest filed by Rita Hart, the evidence for the 22 ballots comes from a combination of poll workers, county recount board records, county auditor records, and affirmations ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
44
votes
Accepted
Can the current President of the United States block the transfer of their office to the next elected president?
Under section 1 of the 20th Amendment,
The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d ...
- 13.8k
39
votes
Is there precedent or are there procedures for a US president refusing to concede to an electoral defeat?
At 12:00 Noon on January 20, the incoming President would accede to power and would at that point be able to decide who is and is not allowed on the White House Complex. The former president at that ...
- 6,570
39
votes
Accepted
As of 2020-12-16, is there any legal way for Trump to win the election despite the electoral college vote?
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 ...
- 2,756
37
votes
Accepted
What if there is no Presidential winner on Jan 20?
First, the mandate to Donald Trump, granted in November, 2016 ends at Noon January 20, 2021. No need for him to do anything.
The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution deals with the situation where ...
- 1,350
37
votes
Accepted
How would a vote in US congress taken under duress be later invalidated?
The simple fact is that there is a ghost in the machine.
It is common to see questions on this forum discussing the working of the Constitution in some extreme condition. Perhaps because many people ...
- 115k
31
votes
Accepted
Georgia doing "hand recount" of 2020 Presidential Election Ballots. Why is "hand recount" better than "computer rescan"?
This article covers the details of how Georgia handles this process, and what Georgia law says about hand recounts. In particular, it says
Georgia law only provides for recounts by hand if a certain ...
- 16.5k
30
votes
In what way would invoking martial law have helped Trump overturn the 2020 election?
This was addressed in an open letter to General Milley, Secretary of the Joints Chiefs of Staff published on August 20th in Defense One by John Nagl, a retired army officer and a veteran of both Iraq ...
- 8,249
29
votes
Is there precedent or are there procedures for a US president refusing to concede to an electoral defeat?
I find it completely unthinkable that a President would acknowledge the electoral defeat and still refuse to leave. The much more thinkable scenario is that a President disputes the election results. ...
- 106k
24
votes
Georgia doing "hand recount" of 2020 Presidential Election Ballots. Why is "hand recount" better than "computer rescan"?
Money for Trump
Sometimes things are motivated by money, rather than legal or technical reasons.
Recounts are covered by section 21-2-495 of Georgia law. Part (a) covers individual "precincts ...
- 2,482
23
votes
Accepted
Why is Trump not firm on accepting the results of the 2016 Presidential election?
DISCLAIMER: Obviously, there's no way to tell for sure.
However, there are many likely/possible factors:
He wants to leave his options open. All else being equal, having an option to contest the ...
- 91.8k
20
votes
Given a 4-4 tie, how would the Supreme Court determine results for a contested election?
The decision of the lower court stands. The Supreme court acts as the final court of appeal in such matters (it is not a dispute between states, for example). Therefore a lower court will already ...
- 115k
19
votes
Accepted
Is there precedent or are there procedures for a US president refusing to concede to an electoral defeat?
There is no precedent for a president refusing to leave in the United states. There are Presidential transition laws that have been amended fairly regularly. These laws grant newly elected presidents ...
- 13.9k
19
votes
In what way would invoking martial law have helped Trump overturn the 2020 election?
Those of us who have lived our lives in (more or less) stable democratic regimes have a difficult time wrapping our heads around this kind of maneuver, so allow me to make a couple of difficult points ...
- 67.7k
19
votes
Accepted
What procedures are in place to stop a U.S. Vice President from ignoring electors?
The SCOTUS is the only body that could decide. But the process, as described in the Constitution, doesn't seem to allow for the Vice President in his role as President of the Senate to exercise much ...
- 115k
16
votes
Has a sitting US president ever expressed anything less than a full willingness to accept the results of an election?
-No.
However no one ever asked that question of a sitting president until 2016 (EDIT: 2020), so the sample size is essentially one.
And while a sitting President has never expressed this, there have ...
- 2,264
15
votes
Is there precedent or are there procedures for a US president refusing to concede to an electoral defeat?
Since the question assumes that the incumbent has lost, the talk of court challenges and the like is not relevant. If such a challenges were to succeed, the incumbent would be the winner.
Once ...
- 17.4k
13
votes
In what way would invoking martial law have helped Trump overturn the 2020 election?
In short no.
The "theory" of martial law is that the President is charged with upholding the constitution and executing the legislation passed by Congress in accordance with the Constitution....
- 115k
12
votes
Georgia doing "hand recount" of 2020 Presidential Election Ballots. Why is "hand recount" better than "computer rescan"?
Regarding why hand count ballots are more secure and trustworthy, I would introduce you first to the concept of a black boxes vs white boxes- and also the self contradictory attributes sought for in a ...
- 171
11
votes
Why is Trump not firm on accepting the results of the 2016 Presidential election?
We obviously can't look inside candidates' minds (I'm not sure if I would like to) but here's some deduction:
Trump is not in the habit of backing down from claims. I'm not sure if there are many (or ...
- 2,151
10
votes
Accepted
Can President Trump force a coalition if he loses the election?
Note: I originally considered voting to close the question as too hypothetical, but technically I think it has a logical answer.
This scenario describes a coup: taking power by force or threat. The ...
- 16.2k
9
votes
Accepted
What happens in the event of a tie for a 12th amendment House vote?
I wasn't able to find a conclusive legal opinion on this, and there's no precedent (the only time the 12th Amendment sent an election to the House - in 1824 - there were no state ties).
As such, ...
- 91.8k
9
votes
Can the House change how the contingent vote for President works?
No, the one vote per state rule comes from the 12th Amendment and could only be replaced or superseded by a new constitutional Amendment. See the bolded portion of the Amendment below:
... if no ...
- 25.9k
9
votes
In what way would invoking martial law have helped Trump overturn the 2020 election?
In no way could Trump try to use the military to alter the outcome of the election.
Our military swears allegiance, not to the president, but to the US Constitution. There is no provision in the US ...
- 10.4k
9
votes
How does Rita Hart know that 22 votes weren't counted?
According to the brief filed as part of the procedures of the Federal Contested Election Act, Rita Hart believes that 22 ballots were improperly rejected when the ballots were counted.
You can find ...
- 10.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Can an incumbent Vice President vote in a contingent election in which (s)he is a candidate?
You currently need 51 senators: a majority of the whole number of senators period. This has never been tested though, so we don't have a concrete precedence or procedure to say with 100% certainty. ...
- 2,756
8
votes
Is there precedent or are there procedures for a US president refusing to concede to an electoral defeat?
After January 20, following the election year, the president is no longer president. It's not a matter of choice, or concession. That's the law. Any 'orders' given by a former president after January ...
- 10.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible