{"id":91269,"date":"2020-10-16T23:41:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T20:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/"},"modified":"2020-10-16T23:41:00","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T20:41:00","slug":"how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"#\n  How a contested election in key states could send the U.S. into a constitutional crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36ea3413b53\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36ea3413b53\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#What_you_need_to_know_now_about_the_prospect_of_a_contested_election\" >What you need to know now about the prospect of a contested election<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#Which_states_could_be_the_focus_of_a_contested_election\" >Which states could be the focus of a contested election?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#Why_do_mail-in_ballots_take_longer_to_count\" >Why do mail-in ballots take longer to count?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#Which_states_are_likely_to_take_a_long_time_to_complete_vote_counts\" >Which states are likely to take a long time to complete vote counts?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#What_could_be_the_consequences_of_a_significant_delay_in_ballot_counting\" >What could be the consequences of a significant delay in ballot counting?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#Why_are_mail-in_ballots_more_likely_to_be_contested\" >Why are mail-in ballots more likely to be contested?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#Why_does_a_delayed_count_increase_the_chances_of_a_contested_election\" >Why does a delayed count increase the chances of a contested election?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#Which_parties_would_be_fighting_these_issues_out_in_court\" >Which parties would be fighting these issues out in court?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-contested-election-in-key-states-could-send-the-u-s-into-a-constitutional-crisis\/#Chris_Matthews\" >Chris Matthews<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#<br \/>\n  How a contested election in key states could send the U.S. into a constitutional crisis<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_you_need_to_know_now_about_the_prospect_of_a_contested_election\"><\/span>\n  What you need to know now about the prospect of a contested election<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000036094\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n              \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n        media-object\n        type-InsetMediaIllustration\n          inline\n  article__inset\n        article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration\n          article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n        media-object-image\n        enlarge-image\n        renoImageFormat-\n        img-inline\n        article__inset__image\n      \" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:69.53125%;\" data-mobile-ratio=\"69.53125%\" data-layout-ratio=\"69.53125%\" data-subtype=\"\" class=\"image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-245903?width=140&amp;size=1.4382022471910112 140w,\nhttps:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-245903?width=540&amp;size=1.4382022471910112 540w,\nhttps:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-245903?width=620&amp;size=1.4382022471910112 620w,\nhttps:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-245903?width=700&amp;size=1.4382022471910112 700w,\nhttps:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-245903?width=860&amp;size=1.4382022471910112 860w,\nhttps:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-245903?width=1260&amp;size=1.4382022471910112 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 140px) 100px,\n(max-width: 540px) 500px,\n(max-width: 620px) 580px,\n(max-width: 700px) 660px,\n(max-width: 860px) 820px,\n1260px\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-245903?width=620&amp;size=1.4382022471910112\" data-enlarge=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-245903?width=1260&amp;size=1.4382022471910112\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption\" itemprop=\"caption\"><span class=\"wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit\" itemprop=\"creator\"><br \/>\n            MarketWatch photo illustration\/Getty Images, iStockphoto<br \/>\n          <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>       The chances of this November\u2019s presidential contest becoming a contested election are abnormally high, given a COVID-related surge in mail-in ballots and frequent assertions by President Donald Trump that he might not accept the result of the election <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/tommybeer\/2020\/09\/24\/heres-everything-trump-has-said-about-refusing-to-give-up-power\/#1807f7302e43\" class=\"icon none\">unless he wins<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> The U.S. system of electing the president through the Electoral College puts state election laws and procedures in particular focus.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       Here\u2019s the MarketWatch contested-election guide:\u00a0<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_states_could_be_the_focus_of_a_contested_election\"><\/span><strong>Which states could be the focus of a contested election?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Polling and fundamental indicators show the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina have the highest chance of putting Joe Biden or Trump over the 270 electoral-vote threshold needed to secure victory, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/projects.fivethirtyeight.com\/2020-election-forecast\/\" class=\"icon none\">according to FiveThirtyEight.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_do_mail-in_ballots_take_longer_to_count\"><\/span><strong>Why do mail-in ballots take longer to count?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Several states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, don\u2019t allow election officials to begin processing mail-in ballots before Election Day. Processing, or pre-canvassing, means taking action to prepare ballots to be counted, like verifying voters\u2019, and in some cases witnesses\u2019, signatures on envelopes. In many states, including Pennsylvania, it also involves checking that ballots are enclosed in a second \u201csecrecy envelope\u201d within the mailing envelope. Finally, processing includes removing ballots from envelopes and stacking them in preparation for the count.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of these things sound like small steps, but added up over millions of ballots it comes to a significant amount of time,\u201d Richard Pildes, a constitutional-law scholar at New York University, told MarketWatch. \u201cThe more delay in getting to a final and complete account, the greater the likelihood that there will be tremendous conflict over these votes.\u201d<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_states_are_likely_to_take_a_long_time_to_complete_vote_counts\"><\/span><strong>Which states are likely to take a long time to complete vote counts?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>A stalemated, partisan battle over election laws has left Pennsylvania unprepared for a surge in mailed votes, Daniel J. Mallinson, a public-policy professor at Penn State Harrisburg, said in an interview. <\/p>\n<p>In the primaries, when 1.5 million ballots were cast by mail, it took nearly a week to come to an accurate count in some races. In the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> election, Pennsylvania expects to receive 2.5 million absentee ballots, but the  commonwealth government has been unable to come to an agreement to allow for early processing of votes or expand resources available to counties for tallying ballots.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest concern is there is a long delay in being able to give a confident counting of the vote,\u201d Mallinson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>In Michigan and Wisconsin, too, partisan conflict has prevented laws from being amended in a manner that would allow the prompt tallying of mailed ballots.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_could_be_the_consequences_of_a_significant_delay_in_ballot_counting\"><\/span><strong>What could be the consequences of a significant delay in ballot counting<\/strong>?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/IF\/IF11641#:~:text=December%208%2C%202020%3A%20The%20%E2%80%9CSafe%20Harbor%E2%80%9D%20Deadline&amp;text=be%20conclusive%2C%20and%20will%20apply,on%20December%208%20in%202020.\" class=\"icon none\">Federal election law stipulates<\/a> two important deadlines by which state election results must be completed. One is Dec. 8, when states are supposed to send election results to the Archivist of the United States, and a second is Dec. 14, when the resulting Electoral College delegations are to cast their votes.<\/p>\n<p>Between Election Day and these dates, it is conceivable that one side or the other could engage in legal maneuvers that potentially delay the counting of votes to the point that not every ballot can be counted in time, NYU\u2019s Pildes said. <\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_are_mail-in_ballots_more_likely_to_be_contested\"><\/span><strong>Why are mail-in ballots more likely to be contested?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Mail-in votes are far more likely to be declared invalid because many states have complicated protocols for how voters must fill out and mail ballots.<\/p>\n<p>In North Carolina, for instance, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/politics-government\/article246161740.html\" class=\"icon none\">there has been litigation<\/a> over a state law requiring that absentee ballots include a witness\u2019s signature on the ballot envelope to be valid, and many voters aren\u2019t following this protocol. A political group representing retirees has sued to force the state to allow voters to amend their ballots if they\u2019ve submitted them without witness signatures.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_does_a_delayed_count_increase_the_chances_of_a_contested_election\"><\/span><strong>Why does a delayed count increase the chances of a contested election<\/strong>?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>If the result of a state\u2019s voting remains in dispute by the time the Electoral College meets, state legislatures and governors could become key actors. Federal law dictates that if a state election has \u201cfailed,\u201d then state legislatures can step in and choose a slate of electors to vote for its candidate of choice. Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina all have legislatures controlled by the Republican Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But in such a scenario, it is ultimately the responsibility of the new Congress, which takes office on Jan. 3, to decide whether to certify a particular slate of electors. \u201cBasically the rule is that if both houses of Congress agree to count or reject a state\u2019s electors, they have the power to do that,\u201d Pildes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If the two chambers of Congress can\u2019t agree, then one reading of the pertinent federal law, the Electoral Count Act of 1887, says that the state \u201cexecutive,\u201d which may be interpreted as the governor of the state, would decide who the real electors are. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina all have Democratic governors. <\/p>\n<p>But the law is vague in its language and open to interpretations that could even lead to multiple quasi-legitimate claimants to the presidency.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_parties_would_be_fighting_these_issues_out_in_court\"><\/span><strong>Which parties would be fighting these issues out in court<\/strong>?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Hundreds of election-related lawsuits have already been filed in courts across the country, brought by state, local and national political parties, as well as by individual citizens, outside advocacy groups and campaigns themselves. The Trump administration has brought several suits against states to limit efforts to collect mail-in ballots, challenge poll-watching laws and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a close election, look for these suits to continue to proliferate.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>      <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Chris Matthews\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Chris_Matthews\"><\/span>Chris Matthews<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B21004575-02D4-D4B5-4572-D8CFEE153CA6%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# How a contested election in key states could send the U.S. into a constitutional crisis &#8221; What you need to know now about the prospect of a contested election MarketWatch photo illustration\/Getty Images, iStockphoto The chances of this November\u2019s presidential contest becoming a contested election are abnormally high, given a COVID-related surge in mail-in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}