The question is, what would happen?

[dutch508]

Star Member Soph0571 (9,324 posts)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216189930

The question is, what would happen?

Just listening to a really great podcast called Americas Next Civil War and it got me thinking…

Serious question. It is 2024 and Biden and Trump go head-to-head in the general. Biden kicks Trumps arse… I mean seriously destroys him in the popular vote and wins the electoral college by a comfortable margin. So far so hopefully normal. But with all the anti-democratic shenanigans going on at far right gop state level in purple states to take over the entire electoral systems and bastardised the integrity of the election system – what happens if they choose to ignore the vote of the people and send Trump electoral college electors to Washington instead? What happens if enough states do this that the electoral votes go to Trump even though he did not win them? Presumably it would go to SCOTUS, which is hardly reassuring, or maybe not?

I know that is a hypothetical q at the mo but they are actively working on this plan right now. So, what would happen next?!?! How would the system work to stop those democracy stealers?

 

remember when the Dems were pushing for the electoral college electors to just vote for Hillary anyway?

I do.

Star Member onecaliberal (21,885 posts)

1. I agree that is their play. Everything they're doing it to this end.

Star Member sarisataka (13,084 posts)

2. The 1st thing you need to do

Is get the notion out of your head that the popular vote matters, It does not.

Given your scenario if the electoral votes cannot be successfully challenged according to the Constitutional procees then trump becomes President.

SCOTUS would not take it the issue as it is all clearly laid out in the Constitution.

Star Member Silent3 (11,765 posts)

3. I think it's possible, at least, that some of the bluer of blue states might decide to secede.

That could lead to violence and possibly civil war because even very blue states still have a lot of angry, violent Trump supporters in them who wouldn't stand for that.

I wouldn't be sure if keeping the peace, and hoping for another way to escape the downfall of democracy would be best, or if a terrible conflict from secession is the only way out. I'd do my best to move to one of those blue states, like neighboring Massachusetts, if I had to.

Even without violence, the break-up of the United States would be a very ugly and messy thing economically and politically. Just think about dividing up the nukes as one small part of that.

 

[DLR Pyro]

remember when the Dems were pushing for the electoral college electors to just vote for Hillary anyway?

I do.

remember, it's always ok when they do it.  Just not when we do it.

[Ralph Wiggum]

remember, it's always ok when they do it.  Just not when we do it.

House Democrats fail to muster support to challenge Trump’s Electoral College win

A challenge by several House Democrats to Donald Trump’s election on Friday collapsed when they failed to persuade a single Democratic senator to join their protest.

The short-lived, doomed-from-the-start effort — spearheaded by Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Barbara Lee of California — came during a joint meeting of the House and Senate to certify Trump’s Electoral College victory. Without sufficient support to challenge Trump’s victory, the Republican-led Congress moved ahead with an easy confirmation of Trump’s presidency. The only remaining step is for him to take the oath of office on Jan. 20.

It is over,” said Vice President Joe Biden, presiding over the meeting, after three Democratic House members lodged objections but failed to secure required support from any senator. His comment drew a standing ovation and cheers from the assembled Republicans in the room.

The joint session of Congress is a legally required — and typically ceremonial — event to ratify the results of the presidential election. But members are permitted to challenge the validity of electoral votes, and for just the fourth time since 1877, they did so.

There was no expectation that the protests would succeed — backers acknowledged that the Republican-led House and Senate would never act to impede Trump’s imminent presidency. But it’s a continuation of efforts by Democrats to poke Trump in the eye before he takes office and undermine what his team has described as a “mandate” to govern. Democrats have routinely cited Trump’s 2.9 million-ballot popular vote loss to Hillary Clinton and pounced on Russian meddling in the election to undermine Trump’s victory.

Jackson Lee and her allies argued that widespread voter suppression in states won by Trump tarnished the results. They also pointed to research provided by a team of independent lawyers that found dozens of Republican electors were technically ineligible to serve. But their arguments failed to persuade their Senate colleagues to step forward.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/no-trump-electoral-college-challenge-233294