How much longer can Trump challenge the election result?
Donald Trump is stepping up legal maneuvers to challenge the election results. But in a month he will have virtually no recourse.
t was counted 8 days after the election. In Alaska, the figure drops to 75%. But the majority of them have almost finished their count. Donald Trump, however, still hopes to change the outcome through legal recourse. For the moment, no fraud likely to change the result has been discovered in all 50 US states, reports The New York Times.
Each state must approve the results before December 8
In the key states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, more than 98% of ballots have been counted but the results are not yet final. They will be after the results certification procedure. Each state has set a deadline for final approval of the results at the local level. In Nevada the date has been set for November 16, in Pennsylvania and Michigan for November 23, in Arizona it is November 30, and in Wisconsin it is December 1. Georgia must approve the results before November 20 but the results are very tight, a recount of votes should be carried out.
The states must in any case approve the results before December 8, ie 6 days before the official election of the president to the electoral college. Which means all legal remedies will need to be settled by Dec. 8, CNBC says. Donald Trump will no longer be able to allege that it is only a media conspiracy or that justice will soon prove him right. In 2000, the Supreme Court ordered the state of Florida to stop the recount on December 12. It was six days before the Electoral College meeting and the gap between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore was 537 votes. Currently, Joe Biden has more than 200,000 votes ahead of Donald Trump in the key states.
On January 20, Donald Trump will have to leave the White House
On December 14, the big voters vote and elect the president. Again there shouldn't be any surprises. In 33 states and the District of Columbia (the territory of the capital Washington), laws punish the voters who do not vote for the candidate who wins in their state. In July, a decision of the Supreme Court ratified these local laws and recalled the essence of the Constitution: it is the people of the United States who decide, it is therefore necessary to respect their choice. Between 1796 and 2016, there were 180 votes against expectations in the presidential elections. They never altered the final result on the identity of the tenant of the White House.
However, the procedure is not yet complete. On January 6, the new Congress meets to count the votes of the electoral college. The President of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence, presides over the session and will be responsible for announcing the final count of the large voters favorable to Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Traditionally, this vote is only a formality, but what will happen this year? Indeed, parliamentarians from both chambers (at least one from the Senate and one from the House of Representatives) have the opportunity to challenge the results. The two chambers can then debate it for a maximum of two hours. Then a vote is organized in each assembly. However, such a request would have no chance of success given that the Democrats hold the House of Representatives.
Finally, on January 20, the new president takes office at 12 p.m. local time, 6 p.m. French time. Donald Trump must leave the White House. If he refuses to leave, Biden's campaign noted that "the American authorities are perfectly capable of expelling intruders from the White House". However, it is highly unlikely that we will come to that end.
