HRC: "Let's be clear. Trump does not have the power to cancel / postpone the Nov election."

[Dennis Donovan]

Link to tweet

Hillary Clinton ✔@HillaryClinton

Let's be clear. Trump does not have the power to cancel or postpone the November election.

https://www.democracydocket.com/2020/03/no-trump-cannot-move-the-general-election/ …
No, Trump Cannot Move the General Election | Democracy Docket
We are three months into a major presidential election year and in the middle of a global pandemic. Not surprisingly, I am getting a lot of questions --

12:09 PM - Apr 6, 2020

Thank you Secretary Clinton!

[LakeArenal]

1. Yet

Can this be gerrymandered or changed by Senate behind our backs?

[Rebl2]

5. I would

think the house would have to approve it as well.

[crickets]

16. Not without a Constitutional Amendment passed by both

House and Senate, and that is not going to happen.

[LakeArenal]

19. Whew.

[whopis01]

42. It does not require a Constitutional Amendment.

All the Constitution says about the date of the election is:
"The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States."

By statute, specifically the Presidential Election Day Act, sets the date by which the states must appoint all electors as "the Tuesday after the first Monday in November".

So Congress can modify the election date without requiring a Constitutional Amendment. It would still take both houses to pass a bill changing the law, but would not require an amendment.

[crickets]

48. Thanks for the correction on that detail, however

a change of date for the national election would never pass the House to even reach the Senate. It just won't happen, and any attempt to seriously suggest it would cause catastrophic civil unrest that no one in Congress, even the craziest of the Repubs, would want to see.

The same noises went around when Bush was in office and we got rid of him finally, without a hitch, on the set date. We'll get rid of trump, if he even lasts that long. He's doing such a piss poor job right now it surprising there aren't louder noises calling for him to step down. In the meantime, there are so many more important realities to worry about and take care of right now. This one just isn't on the list.

[whopis01]

71. I wasn't claiming that it would happen

Or was even a remote possibility.

In every election cycle I can remember since the 80s people on one side or the other have run around screaming that the elections are going to be delayed or cancelled or somehow the incumbent was going to get a third term.

Some people just love getting excited about that.

[obamanut2012]

22. no, hard stop

[calimary]

44. Although I bet he'll still try it.

Stir up his MAGAts to demand it at Congressional or state level.

[Jake Stern]

2. Hopefully this will stop all these ridiculous OPs

[SammyWinstonJack]

36. Hopefully

[Thomas Hurt]

3. Of course that doesn't mean that he won't try something illegal anyway, but yeah.

and it won't stop him from talking GOP majority states into something shifty or illegal.

[not_the_one]

34. Bingo.

The turd can't do shit, but as I understand it, and since the Supreme Court has decided that elections are a "states' rights" issue, and states can decide to do whatever they damn well please in allowing gerrymandering, voter suppression, etc, the result being whatever it takes to keep republican control, you don't think the republican led legislatures (which are the majority of states) won't do their best to fuck it up to please der fuehrer and keep power?

News Flash. Rules don't matter any more. If you aren't aware of that, you haven't been paying attention. They will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to stay in power.

WE better ALSO be prepared to do whatever it takes to keep them from destroying this country.

[Sugarcoated]

40. I second that bingo

It's not about scaring people with conspiracy it's about being prepared

[DENVERPOPS]

47. Amen to you NTO

I love Hillary, but on this one, I think she is revealing her wishful thinking.

Just how many times have you said, in the past three years: "they can't do that"............

"States rights" my ass..............Does anyone recall the true happenings in Florida during the 2000 election. State laws required a re-count of all ballots. (BTW if they had done it, numerous University studies say Gore would have won)

It was the very group of "States Rights Supreme Court Justices" that unconstitutionally and un-lawfully intervened and stopped the re-count that the State of Florida was required to do by their own Florida State constitution.

WASF

[TreadSoftly]

49. Amen, DENVERPOPS. n/t

[Cosmocat]

69. YEP

nm

[dewsgirl]

4. K and R

[Bayard]

6. That's how the Constitution is supposed to work

But he's never paid any attention to that document so far.

[DENVERPOPS]

63. He has said

he considers the constitution an antiquated paper.......that has no bearing on our current gov't

[NewJeffCT]

7. and if he does, who will stop him?

By October, the courts will be even further to the right than they already are.

[TwilightZone]

12. The states, as clearly explained in the article.

Perhaps you should read it.

[crickets]

18. +1

[NewJeffCT]

25. yes, because the 26 states with Republican governors

will suddenly grow spines and rebel against him and demand elections be held. No, they will go along with Trump and cancel or postpone.

[onenote]

51. So republican governors will cancel elections so that there are fewer republican

house and senate members? And so that the states with Democratic governors will go forward with the election guaranteeing the defeat of Trump?

Logic?

[NewJeffCT]

72. the governors will issue executive orders

that will be held up by SCOTUS (like SCOTUS overriding the Democratic governor of Wisconsin's executive order) that says that due to the coronavirus emergency current members of Congress stay in their seats until elections can be safely held.

[onenote]

73. That's so silly it almost doesn't deserve a response.

If you think that there is any comparison between the Wisconsin situation and an order saying members stay in their seats after January 3, you need to re-read both the Wisconsin decision and the Constitution.

And nice pivot from suggesting the Republican state governors would postpone/cancel to having Trump order it across the board.

[whopis01]

46. What the article claims is true for the House and Senate elections.

However, it is not true for the Presidential election.

It refers to the states' rights to set the "times, places, and manner". That comes from Article I, Section 4 which reads:
"The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;"

However, for the Presidential election, it gives the ability to set the time (both for choosing electors and for the electors choosing the President and Vice President) to Congress.

So the states can force the timing for the election of Congress, but only Congress can force the timing for the election of the Executive Branch.

[Stuart G]

8. K and R Thank You for posting..

[yellowcanine]

9. His term and that if Pence runs out Jan 20, 2021. So if there is no election before that he is

done.

[JenniferJuniper]

10. That's what I thought,

he stops being president when his term is up.

Not sure how he or Pence would legally get around that.

[Bettie]

11. They file a lawsuit and the SCOTUS

says that he gets to stay as long as he wants to.

He seems to get to do whatever he wants to and there is literally no one who has stopped him yet.

[crickets]

20. Please don't. That is not going to happen.

trump has no power to stop national elections. We're all on edge, but there's enough stress to go around right now without borrowing more.

[Bettie]

24. My problem is that I no longer trust any

of our institutions to stand up against him, except the House and they have no real power as oversight has been significantly reduced.

I wish I believed that any of it still worked.

[crickets]

29. Understandable given the shitshow we are all having to endure right now.

We've got to hang in there and keep one another sane until November.

[Cosmocat]

70. Not for nothing

But, "Trump has now power" to do pretty much any of the shit he has done ...

The norms are literally have shot, and it is not just him, it is half of the elected officials in the country who will back whatever play he makes.

Its a coin flip.

We may have the elections, but if he loses he will not just walk away.

[onenote]

52. In case you actually want facts:

No one has stopped him from doing what he wants? - Last term, the administration won 12 and lost 10 of the Supreme Court cases in which they were a party. The year before: 12 wins and 11 losses.

If he has the power you say he has and believes he can do anything and the Supreme Court will allow it, here are some things he would have done: "fired" Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Breyer. Announced that the 2018 elections were invalid and that the House was still under Republican control. Forcibly shut down CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post and arrested dozens of journalists.

Since you think the Constitution isn't an impediment and that he intends to stay in office indefinitely, what has stopped him from doing these things?

[DENVERPOPS]

67. Just wait a year or two

In past, the Republicans were just getting warmed up........

I can't believe the carnage they did when they ruled for Citizens United, and that Corporations were people......

And the impeachment, where they basically ruled that any foreign nation and any wealthy foreigners could be involved in our elections, with any means they chose, to help one political party over the other......

[uponit7771]

13. Without Vote By Mail republicans will ***EFFECTIVELY*** call off 2020 election. We need intervention

... now not wait till Trump fucks up everything at the last minute thinking the constitution thought of every scenario a guy who has admitted he'll cheat, acted on cheating and cheated before wont try it again by hindering people going to the polls.

[Qutzupalotl]

15. and even with VBM, the P.O. is running out of money.

They say they’ll be out of money by summer. I love my Vote By Mail, and I hope the Post Office gets fully funded or their pension regulations get improved.

[uponit7771]

21. +1, that'll be another way to effectively cancel the election is the postal system wont work

[FailureToCommunicate]

43. Yes! That was a very troubling news story.

[onenote]

53. How will they call off the 2020 election? Why would they want to?

Congress only has authority to set the date of the presidential election. And it would take both houses to do that and that means it would take majority support from Democrats. So that ain't happening.

And state election dates can be set by the states, but if the republicans cancel the elections in the states they control, they simply are ensuring that there are a whole lot fewer republicans in Congress since those in office now will see their terms expire on January 3. If the states controlled by Democrats go forward with elections our majorities in the House and Senate will be really large.

So, no, this ain't happening despite the crazy demonstrated in this (and similar) threads.

[uponit7771]

57. effectively means they don't have to formally pronounce anything just make it 10 times ...

... harder to vote by having a system were social distancing is damn near impossible.

[onenote]

58. And if states with Democrats in charge allow voting by mail, the Democrats win.

So, I ask again, why would Republicans put themselves at a disadvantage in states where they are most likely to win?

[uponit7771]

64. Hmmmmm

Only if you're talkin about states that voted red last time but are blue LED this time

My understanding that's only two states am I wrong?

[SlogginThroughIt]

14. Let me stress this.

Expect NOTHING to be done normally anymore. How many times does this administration need to illustrate to you that they do not five a single fuck about norms.

[Bettie]

17. Or laws, rules, the Constitution

institutions or anything that doesn't directly benefit Orange Hitler.

[onenote]

54. and yet they've lost nearly 50 percent of the SCOTUS cases in which they were a party

Last term, the administration won 12 and lost 10 of the Supreme Court cases in which they were a party. The year before: 12 wins and 11 losses.

[BamaRefugee]

27. Yes, this. NONE of *the rules* have applied to ANYTHING for 3.5 years.

[onenote]

55. So why haven't they done all sorts of things?

What has stopped Trump from "firing" Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Breyer? What has stopped him from shutting down the Washington Post and New York Times and jailing journalists? Why didn't he declare the 2018 House elections invalid?

Hmmm....maybe you're setting your hair on fire unnecessarily.

[sarisataka]

23. Unfortunately, as the replies show,

This will not lay the matter to rest.

[lark]

26. There's lots of things that drumpf "can't do" but does illegally every day.

Russian Repugs are in charge and they approve of his killing and grifting because he will steal seats for repugs and implement their dream fascist state after 2020.

[onenote]

56. And there are even more things he probably would like to do but doesn't

Fire Supreme Court justices, declare the 2018 House elections invalid, forcibly shut down the NY Times, CNN and the Washington Post and jail journalists.

What is keeping him from doing those things?

[lark]

61. Attempt at answers below:

1 - he doesn't care about that - the 5 are a majority and are Russian Repugs helping implement the oligarchy.
2 - The things I mentioned are Repug dogma, ending news media has never been a big part of their plan to my knowledge. Now drumpf does hate any non rw media and if he wins re-election and SCOTUS does as expected and backs him every step of the way, I could see that happening too.

[onenote]

62. not very compelling answers. And what about the 2018 elections

You think he doesn't care about having lost control of the House?

[lark]

68. Compelling, pfft, just speculating about what I think could easily happen.

I think he will spend his billions and try to steal enough elections to establish rw control of everything - or at least that is one possibility and one I think is very likely.

[EllieBC]

28. Well not yet. Let's stop being so damn trusting.

He doesn’t have the power yet. Don’t think he won’t try.

[BamaRefugee]

30. I can't find it right now but a week or 2 ago, here on DU, there was a post about Susan Rice

expressing her concern to HRC that trump indeed has plans to upend the election process.

I would assume Susan Rice still knows WAY MORE than any of us do about what might happen.

[BamaRefugee]

31. Here's one post I found. Why would she post this if it's not a concern??

[link:https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213133185|

[fescuerescue]

32. I'm hardly surprised that Trump is ALREADY PROPOSING this

Good for Hillary for correcting him so quickly.

[onenote]

59. Link to where he proposed cancelling the election?

[fescuerescue]

65. It's not my post

It's the OP's post.

[IronLionZion]

33. It's time for nationwide vote by mail or secure online voting

Census, taxes, social security, medicare, all can be done online securely verifying people's identity. It's time to do this for voting.

They know it will reduce turnout because people don't want to stand in line. They're counting on this being a problem in cities where they already use voter suppression tactics to reduce polling places and scrub voter registrations.

Our Dems in Congress need to get on this now.

[not_the_one]

35. Secure? Online? Russians?

Need a say more?

[IronLionZion]

38. They can do that anyway with voting machines and tabulators

but having only in-person voting at this time will have severely reduced turnout because people are avoiding the virus. And that's all part of their plan.

[SBoy]

37. What happens if the USPS if forced to shut down this Summer

As stories have claimed because they’re not getting enough revenue from the business community? This is my conspiracy theory. Trump and the Repugs hate the Postal Service because of its strong union and would love nothing better than to privatize mail delivery. They could then refuse to collect ballots and we’re screwed. Trump knows if he’s out of office on Jan 20, 2021, he’ll be off to jail before the end of that day. He’ll do anything to avoid that.

[IronLionZion]

41. It's all part of their plan

They are deliberately malicious

[onenote]

60. So the plan is for every republican house member to be out of a job on January 3?

Interesting plan.

[IronLionZion]

66. I wish

But my paranoid mind says they're trying to stop people from voting. People will stay home because of the virus. And people can't vote by mail if the postal service folds.

[Ferrets are Cool]

39. My first thought is that he has done a lot of shit that I didn't think was legal

OR possible. And yet, here we are. I hope she is 100% correct.

[trueblue2007]

45. At noon on January 20, 2021, Trump's four year term would expire -- with or without an election.

At noon on January 20, 2021, Trump’s four year term would expire — with or without an election.

Trump alone cannot move the November election, and it is extremely unlikely that Congress will agree to rewrite federal law to change the date. However, that doesn’t mean we can relax our fears about the ways in which COVID-19 may impact the election — and the people’s ability to choose their elected officials in November — just yet.

[dalton99a]

50. Kick