President Donald Trump will not concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden, instead calling for recounts in swing states and claiming voter fraud.
In a news release from Trump via his campaign Nov. 7, he vows to take legal action against the results.
“Beginning [Nov. 9], our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated,” Trump said in the news release. “The American People are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots.”
Trump and his campaign team have cited mail-in voter fraud in swing states such as Georgia and Pennsylvania as reason to recount ballots.
In a news release by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, he assures citizens that every legal vote was cast.
“We’re well aware that with a close presidential election and the possibility of runoffs in some elections that the eyes of the state and the nation are upon Georgia at this time,” Raffensperger said. “We’re as anxious as anyone to see the final results and to start work on certification and planning for our runoff elections. As the work goes on, I want to assure Georgia voters that every legal vote was cast and accurately counted.”
Political Science Associate Professor Natasha Altema McNeely said the president’s statements add to public doubt in the election process.
McNeely also adds the coronavirus pandemic led to an increase in mail-in ballots from voters who feared catching the virus which caused a delay in election results
“Those are existing details that normally make the process take a lot of time,” McNeely said. “And, of course again, this year with an unprecedented pandemic, people are realizing that ‘oh wow, this is taking forever,’ and then with our current President infusing a lot of doubt in the credibility of the process, that is just creating this sort of powder keg of tension among the electorate…”
States such as Nevada and Pennsylvania remained uncalled for three days after Election Day as mail-in ballots were being counted.
McNeely also adds President Trump’s statement at the Republican National Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia on Election Day morning quote -”losing is very hard” shows the president did not plan for a loss.
“As he said that he takes losing very hard, but I’d also seen some other media reports saying that he didn’t have a plan in case he lost, right, that he actually hadn’t written a concession speech because he hadn’t intended to, he had never anticipated that he would have to concede,” McNeely said. “Moving forward, even as these legal challenges get decided possibly against his favor. He may not concede.”
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, all “election disputes” must be finalized by Dec. 3 for state electors to cast their ballots on Dec. 14. McNeely says this date for some may come too soon and for others may be too far away.
McNeely said Trump is not technically required to concede but it has been a norm observed by previous incumbent presidents who have lost reelection.
She explains Trump’s legal team would have to appeal their case to the Supreme Court to overturn the election as they run out of options.
“It would also be very extreme for the Supreme Court to just overturn as a result of the legal challenges to overcome the results of the election,” McNeely said. “So to essentially agree that what has appeared to be validated votes are no longer valid. So that’s an extreme legal recourse that would take some effort on behalf of the Trump administration to be able to negotiate or to even accomplish at this point where we’re seeing many where as of yesterday so many of probably most of the legal cases being dismissed.”
Trump is the first Republican president since former president George H.W. Bush to lose reelection as an incumbent president.
McNeely said like the Bush dynasty, “Trump-ism” — a term coined based on Trump’s style of leadership and political ideology — is here to stay.
“So what I’m, what I’m trying to say is, even though the incumbent is a one-term president, much like what we saw with the Bush dynasty, one could reasonably expect that Trump’s legacy and Trump’s influence over American politics will continue even after he’s out of office,” she said. “Because, as I’m sure you’ve seen various media outlets have been really contemplating the lasting impact of Trump on American politics and what has become termed Trump-ism and its influence in the Republican Party is actually here to stay.”
For more on this story, visit utrgvradio.com
For Vaquero News, I’m Justin Elizalde.
