# The American Coup: 11.9.2020 - **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 9, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182 "2020-11-09T23:29:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 2258
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2258 "2021-01-08T15:47:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I think it obviousthough that the Electoral Count Act needs to be clarified. Again, it is obvious that this wasn’t the intent of the ECA. The intent was for situations where Congress is presented either with electoral votes that are not correctly presented or submitted, or if Congress gets two slates of votes from the same state (e.g. Hawaii in 1960.) It was never the intent of the people who wrote the act that Congress just flat out refuse to count a state’s electoral votes; that is clearly and obviously against the letter and intent of the Constitution of the United States, and there isn’t any doubt in my mind that the courts would shoot it down but God, what a mess it would be. Way back in November I started a thread about streamlining the EC and removing the potential for shenanigans. [Can the Electoral College be updated constitutionally?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-electoral-college-be-updated-constitutionally/926355) > … can we retain the system where the winner of the popular vote in Pennsylvania gets 20 electoral votes, but make it more automatic? Skip the state legislatures and electors and just give the winner 20 points? Of course at the time I had no idea how fucked up it could or would get. If we’re stuck with the EC, then we have to remove the potential for this level of bullshit. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182)._