I think it all depends on what state the lawyers decide to invade, and whatever their election laws are.
Part of the issue in Florida is that when the SC ruled that ALL the votes had to be recounted, not just the ones in the disputed counties, Florida realized they didn’t have enough time to recount before the state deadline to certify the vote. So they stopped the recount and the rest you know.
I say one month after the election. Unless there’s a landslide (Please let there be a landslide.)
November 3rd sometime after I go to bed and before I get up.
Zoe you make me sad.
Both candidates have been raising money to fund recount/filing costs ever since they appealed the FEC for the right in the last few months. Both have placed thousands of attorneys on retainer across the country to facilitate such an occurrence. If there’s something close, 2000 will look tame.
Won’t argue with that. I’m just guessing that there won’t be anything quite close enough to reasonably challenge, so the losing party won’t publically associate themselves with any recount effort. If there is a close state, and the election overall is close, then there’ll be a firestorm of legal challenges.
Do you really not know the answer to that question, or do you think denying provisional ballots (ballots which are checked for veracity after Election Day) is a legitimate course of action?
Four hours after the polls close in New Mexico, whatever time that is. And yes, there will be some lawyerly quibbling, but the results will be written on the wall at that time, no later.
November 3[sup]rd[/sup]…2008!
Kerry in a Landslide by 12AM on Nov 3rd.
malkavia, are you kidding? Me, I’m praying that he manages to squeak by. You think half the U.S. population is going to change their mind this week?
Anyway, although I haven’t seen a recent nationwide poll that breaks things down into electoral college votes, I think it’s unlikely that it’ll end up being as freakishly close as it was in 2000. I think the result, one way or another, is likely to be clear on November 3[sup]rd[/sup]
pleasegodpleasegodpleasegodpleasegod
7 PM MST, I believe.
January 17th, 2005
My prediction runs counter to my hopes but:
**One of major networks ** (probably ABC, but that’s a side prediction) projects President Bush the winner at 11:24 PM EST on November 2nd.
John Kerry gives concession speech at 12:13 AM EST on November 3rd.
Many voting problems are reported and legal action is undertaken, but the election is effectively over as soon as Kerry publicly admits defeat early Wednesday morning.
Then–
Taxes cut more. Deficit grows. Dogs and cats don’t start living together, but DO go out on a few dates. Earth still spins, but most of the world hates us even more. Iraq? Either: A) Cluster-Fuck or, B) Quagmire. Too close to call.
I will be very surprised, given the level of pre-election-day maneuverings, if Kerry concedes a close election Tuesday night / Wednesday morning.
January 20th at 6 a.m. Both men will be in Washington wearing their inaugural best, and at that point one of them (I’m not saying who) will be a big person and vacate all lawsuits and concede for the good of the country.
Either that or we have the biggest Constitutional crisis in our history.
I agree with malkavia about Kerry in a landslide. And yes, I’m serious.
So, my prediction is that Bush makes his concession speech at 0007 EST November 3.
If I were Kerry, knowing the levels of sleaziness Rove is capable of, there’s no way I’d concede an election as close as this appears to be without some legal wrangling to at least give me time to look into it.
If I were Bush – that is, the kind of person who’d hire Rove – there’s no way I’d concede an election as close as this appears to be without accusing the Democrats of fraud and giving a decent attempt at making the charge stick, even if only for the purpose of casting doubt in the future.
Both sides have shown they are quite willing to sacrifice the truth to gain their ends. Why should they change their spots when the chips are down?
The only way I can see a concession – which isn’t to say it won’t happen – is if one party gets a clear enough margin that legal challenges would obviously be futile, and therefore only damaging to the party.
Mid-November–say, between the 16th and the 21st–of 2008.
I’m going to take a huge flyer and guess (hope) that while it’ll be close it won’t be too close to call, and that we’ll know pretty much who’s going to be President when we wake up on Wednesday. Sure, there may be some wrangling, but it’ll either be half-hearted and perfuctory or it’ll be isolated, spiteful, and self-destructive, and rather quickly terminated.
For the sake of the country’s health, I hope this is the case, so I’m going to think positively. I personally am not certain I could deal with another month-long debacle.