# Election Day \[Week\]\[Month\[s\]\] \[Year\] 2020 follow-along thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 3, 2020, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618 "2020-11-03T05:36:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 160
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3186 "2020-11-06T05:05:03Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I know Trump has many sycophants but is it likely that some utterly shameless person would put everything on the line to throw the election to Trump after he lost? I don’t think it’s likely, but it’s not impossible. The way that the electors work is this (as I understand it): the state parties each select their slate of Electoral College delegates. So, for Pennsylvania, for example, which has 20 electoral votes, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party picks 20 electors, and the Pennsylvania Republican Party picks a different set of 20 electors. Depending on which candidate wins the popular vote in Pennsylvania, either the Democratic electors, or the Republican electors, are the ones who make the actual votes. Particularly in a hotly contested election, the parties very likely choose their electors carefully for loyalty to their party (and, thus, loyalty to voting for their party’s candidate), but a rogue could certainly slip through, have a sudden (and major) change of heart, or even potentially be bribed or blackmailed into becoming faithless. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3187 "2020-11-06T05:05:18Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > > [@solost](#): > > > > > > Give it time. Last I heard PA should flip by 3-4 am. > > > > Which I really, really should not try to stay up for. > > > > See you all sometime in the morning. Probably not early, I’m already going to bed too late. > > This. Good night everyone. Hopefully we’ll all wake up to some good news. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3188 "2020-11-06T05:06:52Z")
Okay I’ve been crunching some numbers in Arizona. Their website is NOT an easy one to navigate or read. According to their (terrible) dashboard there are 296,694 ballots left to count (although Maricopa is a 200,000 estimate). Biden currently holds a 46,667 lead. That means Trump needs to win 58% of the remaining votes to overtake. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3189 "2020-11-06T05:08:06Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Philadelphia police arrested two armed men who drove up from Virginia in a HUMVEE, intending to attack the Philadelphia Convention Center Must be from _Southern_ Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3190 "2020-11-06T05:08:12Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Biden needs 58% of remaining ballots to win GA. And he now only needs 57.5% of remaining votes to win PA. Keep in mind, the remaining vote totals don’t include about 9000 military/overseas ballots and several thousand provisional ballots. No matter how the current count ends up, the margin will be small enough that these become important. The provisional ballots will skew Biden, but who knows about military. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3191 "2020-11-06T05:08:23Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I’m Canadian and I’m pretty sure faithless electors are impossible here so I am curious about how it works in the US. We’re talking about a scenario where Biden wins 270 or more electoral votes but someone in the Electoral College decides that they want Trump to be President instead? And they can do this and it would be binding? That seems like it would be a very bad idea for that person, the country and the system at large. I know Trump has many sycophants but is it likely that some utterly shameless person would put everything on the line to throw the election to Trump after he lost? That’s the thing that many people–even Americans–don’t understand. Legally speaking, Trump HASN’T lost until the Electors vote. Period. End of discussion. Those 538 votes are the only ones out of tens of millions that actually matter. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3192 "2020-11-06T05:08:42Z")
that is amazing because since last night Kornacki and 538 and others have said 58-59% If one argues with math, they will lose ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3193 "2020-11-06T05:09:14Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > That means Trump needs to win 58% of the remaining votes to overtake. How does that compare to the most recent vote counts for trump? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3194 "2020-11-06T05:10:03Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > As I pointed out before your post I think you may be responding to posts from an hour ago and not looking for an update to the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3195 "2020-11-06T05:10:19Z")
Isn’t it just as likely, though, that a republican EC voter will not cast for Trump? Also, can a party have a voter sign a binding contract? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3196 "2020-11-06T05:11:15Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Ok, that clarifies things for me. I thought the SCOTUS ruling addressed that in saying that a state legislature couldn’t retroactively decide to allow faithless electors if they already have laws against it. I wasn’t aware so many states currently don’t have FE laws that allow for it. > > Thank you. Hey you are very welcome. I wasn’t feeling any animosity or anything negative toward you at all. I just believe in these extreme circumstances it’s important that things are finely parsed. Not so many internet hangouts are equipped to do that. But we are so it’s good to spread real info around. Cheers! PS: this stuff is being (or is about to be) diced and sliced to the sub-atomic level. It’s very hard to keep up. For me especially. I’m not even a lawyer nor do I dabble in legal punditry. I was only stating my interpretation of info I read. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3197 "2020-11-06T05:11:50Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Keep in mind, the remaining vote totals don’t include about 9000 military/overseas ballots and several thousand provisional ballots. No matter how the current count ends up, the margin will be small enough that these become important. I’m curious about these. Does anyone know the number of military ballots likely to be cast in Georgia? And has anybody got any idea how they will vote? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3198 "2020-11-06T05:12:17Z")
Thanks @kenobi_65 and @Munch, much appreciated for the details. I have to say, that seems like a poorly designed system. Like, if we assume everyone is going to be honest and non-partisan it would be okay but if one sneaky bastard can topple the whole thing… yeesh. > [@Bootb](#): > > Legally speaking, Trump HASN’T lost until the Electors vote. Period. End of discussion. Those 538 votes are the only ones out of tens of millions that actually matter. Yeah, that’s broken right there. That’s a system that has survived entirely in spite of itself. I had no idea American democracy was that fragile. ---
**Author:** ![akwally1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akwally1/32/3220_2.png) [@akwally1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akwally1)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3199 "2020-11-06T05:13:02Z")
Here’s what the [AJC says](https://www.ajc.com/politics/more-ballots-arriving-in-georgia-from-overseas-and-provisional-voters/2IKU3WM5XZD7FDQE5DAOKYXTMY/) as of 4 hours ago: There were 8,899 absentee ballots from military and overseas voters that hadn’t yet been returned to election offices in Georgia as of Thursday morning, according to the secretary of state’s office. Another 17,529 overseas ballots had already been returned and counted. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3200 "2020-11-06T05:13:03Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > that is amazing because since last night Kornacki and 538 and others have said 58-59% > > If one argues with math, they will lose That’s good that we agree! ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3201 "2020-11-06T05:14:46Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’m looking at their map right now, and it shows Biden behind in PA by 24K (which is what everyone else is showing, too). I suspect that it was a momentary glitch. Maybe it just changed in the last 20 minutes, but I’m showing Biden down in PA by 22,389 on Google/AP. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3202 "2020-11-06T05:15:31Z")
> [@solost](#): > > How does that compare to the most recent vote counts for trump? There was a set of 74,000 votes from Maricopa County earlier tonight which was 57.1% skewed to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3203 "2020-11-06T05:17:21Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I believe you posted upthread that a SCOTUS decision made FE impossible. I don’t think that’s true. Neither does Whack-a-Mole apparenly. This is pertinent stuff. Really, I’m surprised there isn’t more discussion about it. This ain’t the 1950’s (or even the 2010s) and anything could happen when you have an obvious criminal as POTUS. @Munch headed me off. Probably just as well. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3204 "2020-11-06T05:17:36Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I believe you posted upthread that a SCOTUS decision made FE impossible. I don’t think that’s true. Neither does Whack-a-Mole apparenly. The mistake I made was that it was the SCOTUS ruling that dealt a fatal blow to the faithless elector argument. It isn’t, although that ruling is characterized as having that effect. It was just clarified by Jeremy Bash on MSNBC that for Pennsylvania to try and go the faithless elector route violates federal law under Statute 3 USC 1, because this statute prohibits retroactively changing the rules. If you’re going to allow faithless electors, it must be specified before the election. To do so also violates Pennsylvania state law and the Constitution. Since Mr. Bash is an attorney, served as Chief of Staff to the CIA and the DOD in the Obama administration, I take him at his word. And again, I do not believe this election is going to be the 270-268 finish some seem to think it will. It’s already out of reach for Trump. The next big tranches of ballot returns in Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania will skew very heavily for Biden due to their counties of origin. The last ballots that would have helped Trump in Pennsylvania didn’t even help Trump. The counts ate into his lead. These were ballots coming in from Trump-favored counties – and Biden was beating him. All that’s left in PA are strong Democratic counties that have been going 76% for Biden. There are 175,000 outstanding votes that remain to be counted – more than enough outstanding votes to swamp Trump’s lead as soon as they are added in. Earlier today I heard a Nevada election official who was positively gleeful about how the ballots were coming in in Clark County. He wouldn’t quite say it, but he made it clear they were strongly favoring Biden – enough to give Biden the win. I do not believe it is going to be a very close election, but I understand some may feel otherwise. I think the faithless elector attempt is a moon shot by Trump and his remaining supporters, so my preference would be to wait until this election is called. I am very confident Biden will take PA and NV. AZ and GA would be mere icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/3205 "2020-11-06T05:18:10Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The provisional ballots will skew Biden, but who knows about military. Actually, I don’t have confidence the provisional ballots will skew Biden. Many of those could be people voting in the wrong precinct, and election-day voters have been heavily Trump. For military, a poll this summer had veterans supporting Trump by 10 points, and active-duty personnel slightly supporting Biden by 4 points. But we all know how accurate polls are… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618.md?page=159) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618.md?page=161)