# Will there even be a 2020 election? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 26, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027 "2019-11-26T20:48:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/1 "2019-11-26T20:48:10Z")
I think that there is a possibility that we may not have a 2020 election. In some way or another, the nation may be so disorderly that we cannot hold an election. And there may be so much strife between the two parties that we cannot settle the legal questions around holding the election, and it may be suspended…I’m very impressed with the amount of disorder that is already happening, and I feel it will only intensify exponentially between now and the next election. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/2 "2019-11-26T20:53:59Z")
Your first hail storm, Chicken Little? 😉 Sheeit, this is more like sleet. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/3 "2019-11-26T20:58:32Z")
There’s a possibility that the sun might not rise tomorrow, too. ---
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/4 "2019-11-26T21:10:31Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Your first hail storm, Chicken Little? 😉 Sheeit, this is more like sleet. There has never been a period in American history as crazy as this one… ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/5 "2019-11-26T21:11:49Z")
The only way there won’t be an election is if Trump convinces the military to support a coup on his behalf before then. However his plan to drive all decent people out of the military and replace them with war criminals personally beholden to him is too long a game to be completed satisfactorily before the 2020 election. So that cannot happen. Page me once he 1) manages to win the 2020 election, and 2) establishes an overt dictatorship in 2023. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/6 "2019-11-26T21:13:43Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > There has never been a period in American history as crazy as this one… There’s been some crazy periods. That time when half of the states took up arms against the U.S. Federal Government comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/7 "2019-11-26T22:22:07Z")
There will be an election, I am certain. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/8 "2019-11-26T22:26:28Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > There has never been a period in American history as crazy as this one… We’ve had a Red Scare, We’ve had the Civil War, we’ve had very bad yellow journalism. Now we have Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/9 "2019-11-26T22:34:28Z")
Of course there will be. Any unrest or violence that there will be in America in Oct/Nov 2020 likely won’t reach even one-thousandth the level that would be required for the likelihood of the elections being canceled to even be a remote possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/10 "2019-11-26T22:35:43Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > There has never been a period in American history as crazy as this one… As noted, there was a presidential election held during the civil war. Tennessee and Louisiana actually voted. If the country can do that, we can handle trump’s issues. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/11 "2019-11-26T22:35:57Z")
I, too, generally believe that we will have an election, but simultaneously, the chance that we may not, is greater than zero percent. It’s true that we’ve had the War of 1812, Bleeding Kansas, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Great Depression, WWII, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the political turbulence of the 1960s, and we somehow survived as a country. But the greatest mistake we could make is in assuming that the fact that we survived past crisis ensures that we’ll survive future ones. I don’t know if the threats we’re facing now have more gravity than previous crisis – maybe not. But what can’t be debated is that the threats this country faces now are unique. There’s never been a president who has such blatant contempt for the constitution, legal norms, for political norms. We’ve never had a foreign adversary infiltrate our political system in this way, and to this extent. All of this is already against the backdrop of wealth inequality not seen in nearly 100 years, and also against the backdrop of increased dissatisfaction and disillusion with our political system among voters. Our economic “growth” and our quality of life, for those fortunate enough to be society’s ‘winners’ are simply an illusion, obscuring the real truth which is that this country is in huge trouble right now. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/12 "2019-11-26T22:41:44Z")
Ok, er…probably not Boomer Person. This too shall pass. The election will happen. A worse calamity facing us is the horrifying prospect of another Non-SEC National Champion in college football. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/13 "2019-11-26T22:47:12Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > As noted, there was a presidential election held during the civil war. Tennessee and Louisiana actually voted. If the country can do that, we can handle trump’s issues. President Lincoln never hinted that he wouldn’t accept the outcome of an election. He wasn’t aided by a foreign adversary in influencing the election. He wasn’t an asset of a foreign power. Much different now. Also consider that the president, thanks to a little know provision passed in 2006, can use the military in all 50 states to respond to any “crisis.” Suppose there’s a terrorist incident that he and Bill Barr deem to be politically motivated against Republicans and the President. He could essentially enact his own modern form of the Enabling Act. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/14 "2019-11-26T23:11:19Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I, too, generally believe that we will have an election, but simultaneously, the chance that we may not, is greater than zero percent. The chance the Earth might explode tomorrow is also greater than zero percent, and about as likely as no election. Jesus Fucking Christ this same damn question comes up _every single_ election year!! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/15 "2019-11-26T23:17:22Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Also consider that the president, thanks to a little know provision passed in 2006, can use the military in all 50 states to respond to any “crisis.” Suppose there’s a terrorist incident that he and Bill Barr deem to be politically motivated against Republicans and the President. He could essentially enact his own modern form of the Enabling Act. And Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus was in effect in 1864. Somehow they still managed to hold an election. Trump simply can not lock up every single American eligible to vote. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/16 "2019-11-26T23:17:46Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Of course there will be. > > Any unrest or violence that there will be in America in Oct/Nov 2020 likely won’t reach even one-thousandth the level that would be required for the likelihood of the elections being canceled to even be a remote possibility. Some people made the same prediction when Obama got on the ticket in 2008. I don’t see it happening in 2020 either. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/17 "2019-11-26T23:20:41Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > There has never been a period in American history as crazy as this one… You obviously weren’t alive during the Civil War. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/18 "2019-11-26T23:22:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Some people made the same prediction when Obama got on the ticket in 2008. I don’t see it happening in 2020 either. And with Bush in 2004, and Clinton in 2000. I think the only president in my lifetime who I _haven’t_ heard accused of plotting to cancel the election was Bush Sr. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/19 "2019-11-26T23:22:44Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > President Lincoln never hinted that he wouldn’t accept the outcome of an election. Whether Trump accepts losing an election is utterly irrelevant, any more than the Astros “accepting” that they lost the World Series to the Nats. It doesn’t need his/their acceptance. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027/20 "2019-11-26T23:48:33Z")
Why bother? The Democrats still haven’t accepted the outcome of the 2016 election. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-even-be-a-2020-election/844027.md?page=2)