State legislatures will have to break their own rules to stop counting before the deadlines in place. If they do without valid reasons, that’s a pretty good cause for raising some hell.
The guys in charge of their election analysis – not the talking heads we viewers see – are pretty square and professional. They were the ones who shot down Rove when they called Ohio over his objections. It was a wonderful moment.
I think it was 2012.
I’ve thought about this before. I’ve wondered if they use some technique to keep the totals private until election day. I imagine there are ways to compartmentalize the data with everyone on a “need to know” basis and no one having the full picture.
I figure it would look something like the methods used in double-blind studies. I don’t know much about that kind of thing but I’m sure there are Dopers who do.
“Trump claims” is a broad phrase. Of course he’ll claim it, but 90% of his claims go more or less unremarked upon. If a number of swing states are so razor close that there’s court battles, that’s one thing. But if not, the states will trudge towards certification and Trump’s claims won’t matter.
Will there be violence afterwards? Will Trump use his two months remaining in office to try to burn the place down? Quite possible.
This time, a lot will depend on how loud the drums are being beaten by the right-wing news and social media puppets <cough, Russians, cough>. As well, how much support there is from Republican led State Assemblies <cough, partisan hacks, cough> Even in a blowout win for Bidenin a state could be “up for discussion” if there is enough noise and fireworks coming from the usual suspects.
Trump and his co-conspirators are going to do everything possible to avoid prosecution and prison. They are cornered rats at this point.
Honestly, I don’t think any blowout win will be contested. Politicians are usually cowards, and will take the path of least resistance; if Biden wins a state handily, the path of least resistance is to do nothing, and let the apparatus of state just do its thing. After all, a Republican can make considerable hay from spending the next four years ripping into President Biden (or Harris.)
The real danger is actual Election Day suppression, and by that I literally mean either armed troops dispersing voters, or Trumpist gangs doing it while the cops do nothing in tacit approval. It’s so much easier to shoot a few people to scare the rest of them away from the polls than it is to try to win the election back in court. It’s going to happen.
I heard that Biden’s first executive order when in office will be revoking trumps $30 billion tax break for the riches 2%
No, that was 2012, as discussed upthread. A classic Don Ameche in Trading Places moment: "Turn those machines back on! TURN THOSE MACHINES BACK ON!! Good times.
Actually, I’d love it if all the Trump supporters stood outside the polling places all day, wrapped in Stars and Stripes and waving flags. As long as it keeps them too busy to go inside and vote.
And I’m thinking it might. Voting is boring and conventional, very non Trumpian.
Apparently 63 million didn’t get the memo last time.
1016 election
Here are the final numbers:
Clinton received 65,844,610 votes, or 48.2% of the total vote.
Trump received 62,979,636 votes, or 46.1% of the total vote. (That’s a difference of 2.86 million votes.)