# 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:** 279
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5570 "2020-11-12T07:23:44Z")
I sincerely hope this childish and dangerous immaturity blows up in his orange face. Trumpists will always be Trumpists, but hopefully his base of support from mainstream voters continues to dwindle as it becomes indisputably apparent that he’s not just stupid and totally unqualified, but a certifiable madman. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5571 "2020-11-12T07:24:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Of course they could phone him, email him, etc. But official communications from foreign leaders are conventionally handled through the State Department, and the Orange Fuck has blocked that channel out of the sheer petulance of an angry toddler Yeah, figures. So the net result of course is that _when_ the Biden Harris team is talking to foreign officials - as of course they will be - Trump’s maladministration will be totally uninformed. Not that I think that’s a bad thing, but … typical Trumpian “strategy” ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5572 "2020-11-12T07:27:26Z")
Luckily, Trump set the precedent for communication with foreign leaders before his inauguration by not going through the State Department. Not only is Biden communicating with foreign leaders, but he is also providing standard read-outs of the conversations. The Biden transition team is so normal it makes me want to cry.We’re actually getting read-outs! [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/state-department-is-preventing-biden-from-accessing-messages-from-foreign-leaders/ar-BB1aVwed?li=BBnb7Kz](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/state-department-is-preventing-biden-from-accessing-messages-from-foreign-leaders/ar-BB1aVwed?li=BBnb7Kz) > Biden’s team is in touch with foreign governments without State Department involvement, and he has > held numerous calls with leaders including Germany’s Angela Merkel and Canada’s Justin Trudeau. > Operating without State Department support right now, the Biden team – made up of many experienced former government officials – has sent out readouts of all of the calls, which help with record keeping. They are making an effort to formalize the process and will use State Department resources when they are available, said a source familiar with the unfolding situation. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5573 "2020-11-12T07:32:22Z")
Yeah, what I’ve read is that Biden is working with former State Department people to get info, as world leaders are calling. Those calls are not taking place, as they normally would be, on secure, State Department, lines. So, unsurprisingly, Trump’s pettiness and fragile ego is damaging to the security of US foreign relations. But I’m impressed that Biden had contingencies in place for exactly this. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5574 "2020-11-12T07:48:15Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > … and he has held numerous calls with leaders including Germany’s Angela Merkel and Canada’s Justin Trudeau. And I can assure you from this nation that no one is more delighted at the election outcome and the opportunity to speak with and congratulate Biden than Justin Trudeau, who had a very warm relationship with Obama in the waning days of his administration (highlighted by Obama hosting a state dinner for him and his wife). Like every leader everywhere in the world, Trudeau had to deal with Trump – let us say, just for the sake of analogy – in the manner of one dealing with an unstable lunatic recently escaped from an asylum who somehow just happened to be president of the US. And from what I know of Merkel, I’m sure she feels exactly the same great sense of relief. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5575 "2020-11-12T09:01:43Z")
The one Western leader who is not happy about Biden being elected is Boris Johnson. He was counting on Trump to support him. There’s a rumour going round that Biden will appoint Obama as the new ambassador to the UK. It hasn’t been confirmed, but that would be great! 😀 Biden and Obama do _not_ like Boris Johnson or Brexit. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5576 "2020-11-12T09:07:38Z")
On the topic of the UK, last night there was apparently turmoil in Number Ten due to a power struggle between Johnson and Cummings. No clear idea what’s happened but one official has quit and potential for Cummings to go too. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5577 "2020-11-12T09:25:57Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > The one Western leader who is not happy about Biden being elected is Boris Johnson. He was counting on Trump to support him. Johnson at least had the good grace to congratulate Biden on his victory. He and Trudeau were among the first to do so, as two of America’s great allies. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5578 "2020-11-12T09:40:05Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > And even the attorneys filing these lawsuits can barely keep a straight face in court. [This one is especially laughable](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/11/trump-lawyers-suffer-embarrassing-rebukes-judges-over-voter-fraud-claims/): > [Judge Cynthia Diane] STEPHENS: So I want to make sure I understand you. The affiant is not the person who had knowledge of this. Is that correct? > > HEARNE: The affiant had direct firsthand knowledge of the communication with the elections inspector and the document they provided them. > > STEPHENS: Okay, which is generally known as hearsay, right? > > HEARNE: I would not think that’s hearsay, Your Honor. That’s firsthand personal knowledge by the affiant of what she physically observed. And we included an exhibit which is a physical copy of the note that she was provided. > … > STEPHENS: I’m still trying to understand why this isn’t hearsay. > > HEARNE: Well, it’s, it, I – > > STEPHENS: I absolutely understand what the affiant says she heard someone say to her. But the truth of the matter … that you’re going for was that there was an illegal act occurring. Because other than that I don’t know what its relevancy is. > > HEARNE: Right. I would say, Your Honor, in terms of the hearsay point, this is a firsthand factual statement made by Ms. Connarn, and she has made that statement based on her own firsthand physical evidence and knowledge – > > STEPHENS: “I heard somebody else say something.” Tell me why that’s not hearsay. Come on, now. > > HEARNE: Well it’s a firsthand statement of her physical – > > STEPHENS: It’s an out-of-court statement offered where the truth of the matter is asserted, right? A lawyer trying to argue that something isn’t hearsay because they had firsthand knowledge of someone else saying a thing is… really something. A pretty glorious slapdown from the judge, though. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5579 "2020-11-12T09:56:42Z")
Well, if this is going to be a competition about which lawsuit is the most laughable, I offer the following (from my link in post #5532) – this incidentally is about completely bogus allegations over 592 ballots in Pennsylvania, where Biden currently leads by over 53,000 votes with over 99% of the votes counted: 🤣 > THE COURT: In your petition, which is right before me — and I read it several times — you don’t claim that any electors or the Board of the County were guilty of fraud, correct? That’s correct? > MR. GOLDSTEIN: Your Honor, accusing people of fraud is a pretty big step. And it is rare that I call somebody a liar, and I am not calling the Board of the DNC or anybody else involved in this a liar. Everybody is coming to this with good faith. The DNC is coming with good faith. We’re all just trying to get an election done. We think these were a mistake, but we think they are a fatal mistake, and these ballots ought not be counted. > > THE COURT: I understand. I am asking you a specific question, and I am looking for a specific answer. Are you claiming that there is any fraud in connection with these 592 disputed ballots? > > MR. GOLDSTEIN: To my knowledge at present, no. > > THE COURT: Are you claiming that there or improper influence upon the elector to these 592 ballots? > > MR. GOLDSTEIN: To my knowledge at present. no. > > THE COURT: Does it make a difference whether a claim of irregularity or technical noncompliance with the election code is made with or without an accompanying claim of fraud or improper influence? > > MR. GOLDSTEIN: It does not. I mean, to claim the technical defects are immaterial, which is in some sense some of the thrust of what the DNC argued, is really to misperceive what is going on in the election code. The election code is technical. These requirements are all technical. And some of them sit in that code for reasons that are a mystery for all of us. I mean, I sort of recounted for you my view of why the elector signing in his own hand is material. The DNC have their reasons for why they think it is material or immaterial. The fact of the matter is, it is in the code. The code is itself technical. Those technicalities are part and parcel of the law and a violation of the results in a ballot that can’t be counted. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5580 "2020-11-12T09:57:08Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > HEARNE: The affiant had direct firsthand knowledge of the communication with the elections inspector and the document they provided them. Might as well be saying, “So I heard from a guy, who knows a guy, whose brother’s cousin’s sister knows the guy who wrote the document in question.” In other words, hearsay. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5581 "2020-11-12T11:05:34Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Finally heard from my trumper pal. He says get ready for gulags, as that’s what the Democratic party will be having. Remind him which party’s leader hold rallies with mobs demanding that their political enemies be “locked up”. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > What we need to do is get predictions in writing (hell, I’m fine with doing it on the left as well) with a time-frame and then go back to the prognosticators - “See? You were worried that six months into the administration we’d have gulags, but that hasn’t happened. We were told that Obama was going to have Republicans rounded up into re-education camps too. This utterly failed to happen, as did the wholesale confiscation of guns, the implementation of socialism, the banning of Christmas, and executive orders requiring the mandatory consumption of quiche. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > But I see a real possibility that he will either kill himself, or go postal and get taken down. By “go postal” do you mean “get lost for several weeks until a court order forces someone to go looking for him”? > [@GreenWyvern](#): > > The one Western leader who is not happy about Biden being elected is Boris Johnson. He was counting on Trump to support him. It’s more than that - Boris was relying on the Trumpian model to succeed, because he and his best friend Dominic Cummings are desperately emulating it. Finding out that there’s a strong possibility of a massive public repudiation of it in the future is likely causing Boris some uneasy sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_G](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_g/32/5080_2.png) [@Steven\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_G)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5582 "2020-11-12T11:10:56Z")
Questions from a foreigner… I assume that Trump, the GOP and various legal advisors are aware that they will not be able to stop/overthrow/get-rejected enough votes to change any result, and they are just throwing dust into the air to cause delays. Is it possible to gum up the works enough to make a state miss its certification and the deadline to present results to the Electors? If yes, I understand that this would take things into less-certain legal and constitutional waters? Also, I noted a third party, Libertarian. Is some states it polled over 1% . Did this split votes from any particular party? That extra % may have avoided recounts. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5583 "2020-11-12T12:01:31Z")
> [@Steven\_G](#): > > Is it possible to gum up the works enough to make a state miss its certification and the deadline to present results to the Electors? If yes, I understand that this would take things into less-certain legal and constitutional waters? > > Also, I noted a third party, Libertarian. Is some states it polled over 1% . Did this split votes from any particular party? That extra % may have avoided recounts. As I understand it, the candidate’s target is 270 electoral votes. That’s because there are 538 total, so 270 to 268 would be the minimum winning margin. So suppose you knock out a state and its votes don’t get counted…you could still theoretically get your 270 from the remaining states. As for third parties, you may be interested to read about H. Ross Perot, who made a run years ago. > **[Ross Perot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot)** > > Henry Ross Perot Sr. (/pərˈoʊ/ pər-OH; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an independent campaign in the 1992 U.S. presidential election and a third-party campaign in the 1996 U.S. presidential election as the nominee of the Reform Party, which was formed by grassroots supporters of Perot's 1992 campaign. Although he failed to carry a ... > [@](#): > > Exit polls also showed that 38% of Perot voters would have otherwise voted for Bush, and 38% would have voted for Clinton.[[50]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot#cite_note-50) Though there were widespread claims that Perot acted as a “spoiler,” post-election analysis suggested that his presence in the race likely did not affect the outcome.[[51]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot#cite_note-51) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5584 "2020-11-12T12:34:21Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > We were told that Obama was going to have Republicans rounded up into re-education camps too. This utterly failed to happen, as did the wholesale confiscation of guns, the implementation of socialism, the banning of Christmas, and executive orders requiring the mandatory consumption of quiche. Obama may not have done those exact things, but he did others that were as bad or worse. Early in his first term, for instance, on board Air Force One, he asked for a cheeseburger and – in the presence of witnesses – asked for Dijon mustard on it. (And for all we know, he may have demanded that it be Grey Poupon!) And we all know for certain – because millions witnessed it on television – that he once wore a tan suit. These are not things that can be easily overlooked, or explained away. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5585 "2020-11-12T12:35:54Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > The Biden transition team is so normal it makes me want to cry. This. So much this. Normal… _real_ normal… From the AP this morning: > **[Trump's silent public outing belies White House in tumult](https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-emerge-on-veterans-day-290032c8f59767c1e15bca81b79a46ec)** > > WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump spent 10 minutes in public Wednesday honoring America's war veterans — a veneer of normalcy for a White House that's frozen by a defeated president mulling his options, mostly forgoing the mechanics of governing and... Two interesting paragraphs: > All the while, his aides grow more certain that legal challenges won’t change the outcome of the election, according to seven campaign and White House officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the thinking of the president and others in the executive mansion. AND > But aides say he has been calmer than his tweets suggest, showing greater understanding of his predicament and believing that he needs to keep fighting almost as **performance, as a show** to the 70 million people who voted for him that he is still battling. In recent days, some aides, including his daughter Ivanka, have started to talk to him about an endgame, questioning how much longer he wants to fight. My bold. IOW, as usual, playing to the crowds… I ought to \*BEEP\* the Associated Press for suggesting that DJT has an “understanding” of something… but I’m in a good mood this morning and will let it slide. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5586 "2020-11-12T12:49:43Z")
More on the subject: > **[Trump insists he’ll win, but aides say he has no real plan to overturn...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-election-results-strategy/2020/11/11/a32e2cba-244a-11eb-952e-0c475972cfc0_story.html)** > > No evidence has surfaced to back up the president’s claims of widespread fraud, and Joe Biden’s lead in several key states has expanded amid late vote counting. > Asked about Trump’s ultimate plan, one senior administration official chuckled and said, “You’re giving everybody way too much credit right now.” > > Republican officials have scrambled nationwide to produce evidence of widespread voter fraud that could bolster the Trump campaign’s legal challenges, but no such evidence has surfaced. And Biden’s lead in several states targeted by the Trump campaign has expanded as late-counted votes are reported. In all-important Pennsylvania, the Democrat now leads by more than 50,000 votes. > … Might be safe to bring the ice chest and stadium seat cushion in from the ledge. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5587 "2020-11-12T12:51:49Z")
Wow, that is awesome. But it also reminds me, of, say, the Polish (or French) “government in exile,” chilling in England during World War II. Truly bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5588 "2020-11-12T12:55:54Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > By “go postal” do you mean “get lost for several weeks until a court order forces someone to go looking for him”? Heh! So far, he’s gone more DMV. Slowwwwwly turning to face reality. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/5589 "2020-11-12T13:01:06Z")
> **[For Pence, the Future Is Tied to Trump as Much as the Present Is (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/us/politics/mike-pence-trump.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage)** > > If President Trump announces he will run again in 2024, his vice president’s plans could be derailed. “Pence must now balance his loyalty to an enraged president [making baseless claims of voter fraud](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/world/europe/mugabe-trump-maduro-lukashenko-pinochet-gbagbo.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage) against his own political future and reputation. He also has to deal with how Mr. Trump’s talk of running for president again in 2024 could leave him with no lane to run in. It also makes it difficult for Mr. Pence to even start raising money if the president is floating his own name.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618.md?page=278) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618.md?page=280)