Elections and occasional irregularity

Elections and occasional irregularity

The saga continues. Left-leaning media are fond of saying that the administration’s claims of election irregularities are unfounded, but there is plenty of smoke. The several allegations being thrown at the current projection of a Biden/Harris victory range from ridiculous to the sublime, and a few have already been struck down by the courts. The numbers needed to overturn the presumed outcome are a steep hill to climb, but there may be room for a few pyrrhic victories to salve the wounds of those who are disappointed by the outcome.

As of this writing, there are challenges to election results taking place in at least five states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. The majority of the challenges address ballots accepted beyond the deadline or access denied to election observers. Other, more colorful allegations have been made, ranging from electronic manipulation of results by a supercomputer called “Hammer,” to the use of felt-tipped pens that bleed through paper, triggering a rejected ballot.

If anything, the case to watch is that of the Pennsylvania Republican Party v. Boockvar. The trouble began when the Democratic Party sued Kathy Boockvar, Secretary of State, to allow ballots received as many as three days after the election to be counted. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Democratic Party. The Republican Party has now entered the brawl and pointed out that such changes are only to be made by the legislature and not the judiciary.

I’m no constitutional scholar. I leave that honor to my older friends at the various coffee klatches around town, but this looks like a case with merit. I don’t see that the numbers are there to tip the election, but we will see.

There are elements of the left who are convinced that Seal Team Six will have to extract Donald Trump from the Whitehouse on January 20. That’s not going to happen. If there is a transition to be made, it will be made peacefully and with as much dignity as Mr. Trump’s personality will allow.

What’s more likely, if tensions do not soon cool, is that he may fail to attend the inauguration. It’s happened before. John Adams did not attend the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson in 1801. Likewise, his son, John Quincy Adams declined to attend the inauguration of Andrew Jackson in 1829. Again in 1869, the impeached Southerner Andrew Johnson refused to attend the inauguration of Union General Ulysses S. Grant.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see the President throw his own exit party, leave town, and by the time of the swearing-in, he could be on the third hole at Mara Lago.

Going forward, we have a few key dates to watch. December 8 is when any disputes at the state level must be resolved, and any recounts must be completed. Georgia will most definitely have a recount, but if there are any lawsuits pending at the lower levels, they should be wrapped up by then.

December 14 is when electors go to their state capitals and submit ballots. In Nebraska, you will recall, we have five electors (three House seats plus two Senators). We are one of two states (Nebraska and Maine) in the Union that are not “winner take all,” and our second congressional district voted for Joe Biden. We will (most likely) be submitting four electoral votes for Trump and one electoral vote for Biden.

On January 6, the electoral votes are counted and blessed by a joint session of Congress. As President of the Senate, Mike Pence will announce the result. If for some reason, the result is not conclusive, the house would then decide the election per the Constitution, but that isn’t going to happen either.

To friends on both the left and the right, please note that all of those key dates happen AFTER Thanksgiving, so there’s no point in disrupting our family gatherings with political controversy (albeit by Skype or Zoom). Don’t get too far up. Don’t get too far down.

If the worst comes, whatever that means to you, Georgia Senate runoffs are right around the corner.