# 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:** 381
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7615 "2020-12-09T18:48:34Z")
In this sense, I believe intervene means to officially file an argument with the court as one of the affected parties even if they weren’t mentioned in the original parties. It’s a term used by the Democrats all the time: “We have intervened in such-and-such case”. So totally non-partisan. The court then can either allow the intervention or reject it. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7616 "2020-12-09T18:50:38Z")
“Amy, my name is John Barron…” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7617 "2020-12-09T19:31:44Z")
And if Trump has dirt on him? So what? Congress won’t impeach him for it. Kavanaugh could fuck a goat on live TV and he’d still be a Supreme Court Justice. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7618 "2020-12-09T19:36:21Z")
Nice system we got here. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7619 "2020-12-09T19:37:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And if Trump has dirt on him? So what? Congress won’t impeach him for it. Kavanaugh could fuck a goat on live TV and he’d still be a Supreme Court Justice. Please don’t give Donnie any more fund-raising ideas. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7620 "2020-12-09T19:39:45Z")
I like this from that article: _“We will be INTERVENING in the Texas (plus many other states) case. This is the big one. Our Country needs a victory!” Trump [tweeted](https://twitter.com/%20realDonaldTrump/status/%201336668083822473221)._ We already have a victory, dumb-ass! Biden Made America Great Again on Nov 3. Unless you are referring to “our country” as the fairy-tale land you and your pathetic fans sadly live in. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7621 "2020-12-09T19:40:02Z")
It’s hard not to think that. Somehow, it does _seem to be_ holding, but this is an extreme form of pressure testing. I think of it like a guy who’s trying desperately to break into my house. So far, everything he’s trying is failing, but my house definitely now has security threats, and every single aspect of my home security needs to be further evaluated. Partly because – as others have said – the next potential intruder may not be an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7622 "2020-12-09T19:48:12Z")
Personally, I doubt that Trump has anything on any of the Justices that he appointed. I do not believe he had any input whatsoever on selecting them, he was just told who to nominate and he did. That of course won’t stop him from believing he has influence over them. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7623 "2020-12-09T19:52:59Z")
“This is your president. Nice system we got here. it would be a shame if anything happened to it.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7624 "2020-12-09T20:10:07Z")
The formal counting of the Electoral Votes is going to be such a circus. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7625 "2020-12-09T20:22:17Z")
all 50 states have now certified their elections for president ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7626 "2020-12-09T20:43:44Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The formal counting of the Electoral Votes is going to be such a circus. In January, what happens if Mike Pence refuses to play his part on January 6? Like, does he have any real role? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7627 "2020-12-09T20:50:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And if Trump has dirt on him? So what? Congress won’t impeach him for it. Kavanaugh could fuck a goat on live TV and he’d still be a Supreme Court Justice. I seem to remember a Black Mirror episode like this, except it was a pig. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7628 "2020-12-09T21:24:56Z")
I think he’s supposed to swat down any objections to any state’s slate of electors as long as they were duly appointed and certified, but if he doesn’t there’s no penalty or recourse against it. So I guess he can abet all the grandstanding by not objecting to it. Not sure if he’s allowed to make an argument himself. Didn’t Al Gore call for an end to the Democrats’ trying to invalidate Dubya’s “win” ? I think he did. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7629 "2020-12-09T21:37:32Z")
But, the question remains - is all this stuff just for show, or are there any real potential levers left at that point to prevent the Biden administration from taking over? I mean, Pence can refuse to go along with all the ceremony, but does that really matter? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7630 "2020-12-09T21:41:27Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > In January, what happens if Mike Pence refuses to play his part on January 6? Like, does he have any real role? Under the statute, he is required to open, “all the certificates and papers purporting to be certificates” from states certifying their electors. He is also charged to “preserve order” during the session, but what authority this entails is ill defined. As mentioned, during the 2001 count VP Gore ruled on the admissibility of objections to electoral votes from Florida and made other procedural rulings. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7631 "2020-12-09T21:57:02Z")
I don’t know why they’re doing it. I’m not sure if it’s because trump himself truly thinks he still has a way to “overturn” if he just bullshits and screams hard enough or if it’s just to get more donations. I’m still afraid he and cronies think there’s a small toehold somewhere if they can just find it. _shudder_ AIUI, not a lawyer, if GOP Congress critters make an objection (at least one from each house) then they have to discuss it for a limited time and both houses would have to agree to toss Biden electors, which won’t happen. So I’m not too worried about THAT pathway. They may be able to make it take longer but it will still happen. ETA: I’ve used Twitter more in the last few days than I ever thought I would, just to follow lawyers who are willing to give their opinions. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7632 "2020-12-09T22:12:19Z")
I agree with your assessment. Seems Trump & Co. are pressure-testing every single part of the election apparatus looking for any leak to exploit. Someone here or in another thread mentioned we need to get a lot better at the whole Democratic election process. A lot. And we are supposed to be the model for the rest of the world. SMH ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7633 "2020-12-09T22:46:37Z")
Yeah, here is a video of Al Gore presiding over the Senate for the counting of the electoral votes in 2001: [congress objects to W.Bush but Gore+Senate won't support it - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6wl_86qnsI) ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618/7634 "2020-12-09T23:22:15Z")
The Texas lawsuit has only one goal-for the AG to get a pardon. He visibly indicates his support for Trump and Trump promises to “intervene” and give him his pardon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618.md?page=380) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-day-week-month-s-year-2020-follow-along-thread/924618.md?page=382)