Donald Trump’s campaign strategist for his 2016 election win says: “I believe we will have a national emergency declared by late August,” ahead of the Congressional midterm elections due on November 3. “You will have enough evidence by mid-August to show that we have a massive problem” of election fraud, he tells me in an interview. Trump’s televised address to the nation on Thursday last week was the beginning of the process, he says.
The president declassified documents, which he claimed show “shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure” revealed by the 2020 election.
These had been hidden, even from him, by a “deep state” conspiracy of US intelligence services, he posited.
Trump demanded that the Congress pass a bill called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act. The bill stipulates that all voters produce a passport or birth certificate to be eligible to vote. Democrats denounce it as an effort at mass disenfranchisement. The Brennan Centre for Justice at New York University estimates that it could block 21 million Americans from the ballot box.
Under the US Constitution, it’s the states, not the federal government, that run elections. The SAVE Act would force state governments to hand voter roll information to Washington.
Trump sent his Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, out the following morning to issue a threat to state officials: they could face prison time unless they followed the administration’s orders to remove non-citizens from rolls.
Well Ol’ Lumpty Trumpty just declared that he plans on running again. Setting aside the delusions of a President who’s brain is rotting away.
The way I see is that a red state not participating or a purple/blue state with very incredible baseless claims of fraud is what going to kick off the crisis.
First scenario, a red state or states don’t participate. A red state or a coalition of red states file a claim saying that you can’t have an election without us as our electoral votes were never assigned to a Presidential candidate. If there is no election, then the President Mush For Brains is still President pending a proper election.
Second scenario, a blue state or states or purple state is accused of having massive fraud in their elections. Once again, the baseless fraud claims end up in the Supreme Court with the same issue as the first scenario with a twist. Republicans will say that we can’t trust these election results therefore the election is invalid. If the election is invalid, President Mush is still President.
One of the goals of the Republicans is to run out the clock such as what happened in the 2000 Florida Recount and the Brooks Brothers riot.
As far as I am aware, the US Constitution is silent on what happens when election chicanery at this scale happens.
The Constitution is very clear that the President’s term is four years, and he can only have two. If there isn’t someone to take over on Inauguration Day, then Trump’s term ends anyway, and NOBODY holds the office.
We hear a lot about a Constitutional Crisis, but that is what a real one looks like.
If Trump tries to stay under those circumstances, then it’s the end of American Democracy, and the problems will increase exponentially. A big one will be April 15, when many Americans will refuse to file their taxes.
If this scenario happens (it won’t), go into work the next day, and book a meeting with HR to remove all your tax deductions from your paycheck, so you pay as little income tax as possible. Then only file if you have a refund coming.