The clock is ticking – here is why all election controversies must be resolved in less than a month…
This is going to be one of the most chaotic periods in the history of U.S. politics, because we literally have less than 30 days to solve major election controversies in six different states. For the Trump campaign, it is going to be a race against time, and so hopefully they have some of the sharpest lawyers in the entire nation working on this 24 hours a day. Because once the Electoral College has voted, there isn’t going to be any going back. Sadly, the 2020 election season is exposing some real flaws in our system. Investigating allegations of vote fraud is a task that requires a lot of time, and our system was never designed to allow for that. Instead, it was just assumed that our elections would be fair and honest and that any potential controversies could be resolved very rapidly.
Most Americans assume that the election is already over, but the truth is that the presidential election has not even happened yet.
According to the U.S. Constitution, it is the Electoral College that elects the president, and they will not cast their votes until December 14th.
So nobody should be claiming that anyone is the “president-elect”, because you can only be the “president-elect” after you have been elected.
Unfortunately, even Wikipedia is promoting the falsehood that you can have a “president-elect” before the Electoral College has voted…
The president-elect of the United States is the person who conclusively appears to have won a presidential election in the United States but has yet to take office as President. The president-elect takes office after the oath of office is administered during the presidential inauguration.
In our system, the American people do not elect the president.
Instead, every four years we go to the polls to choose a slate of electors in each state, and those electors cast their votes to actually elect the president at a later date.
In 2020, members of the Electoral College will gather on December 14th to cast their votes. And the deadline for choosing those electors is December 8th. The following comes from the National Archives…
States must make final decisions in any controversies over the appointment of their electors at least six days before the meeting of the electors. This is so their electoral votes will be presumed valid when presented to Congress. Decisions by States’ courts are conclusive, if decided under laws enacted before Election Day.