Posted on 10/29/2012 4:52:44 PM PDT by mdittmar
Yes: Congress would lead the way in rescheduling it, but the states would have to sign on. And, no, there's no plan yet on the public books.
No matter how bad Hurricane Sandy turns out to be, it could have been a lot worse: It could have struck one week later than it did, swamping the 2012 presidential election in its low-pressure trough. As hard as it will be for officials to recover from the storm in time for next week's vote, and as frustrated as many early voters will be this week amid the flood waters, just imagine how many citizens would have been deprived of their ability to vote if the hurricane had blown through the East Coast on November 5 or 6. No trains. No buses. No roads. No electricity. No polling stations. No poll watchers. No voting for tens of millions of Americans.
We got lucky, in other words, at least as far as the election is concerned -- an election remarkably void, it must be said, of any meaningful dialogue about the effects of global warming on America's climate. The timing of Hurricane Sandy is indeed a reminder that there are things in this world far more powerful than our presidential campaigns and stump-speech timetables. It's a reminder that also raises an important question many storm watchers might reasonably be asking themselves as the rain and wind pounds down on them. Could America ever delay a presidential election due to a natural event or other catastrophe?
The short answer is yes.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
You mean like we suspended the 2008 campaign when financial Armageddon was bearing down on us?
This is what’s called bargaining. Actually, the Democrats are going through four out of Kubler-Ross’ five stages at the same time. (Acceptance is probably beyond them.)
Come to think of it, why didn’t they have the gov run out on the Shore and jump up and down?
1) The Constitution doesn’t set any date.
2) The law that does, says the first Tuesday AFTER the first Monday, not the first Tuesday. This means if the first of the month is on Tuesday the election will be on the second Tuesday.
I had a childhood friend who gave me the same treatment leading up to the 2008 election. I discarded him shortly after Obama’s inauguration.
Friendship isn’t supposed to be a one-way thing.
I’ve been nice about for 20 years but, I dunno, maybe I’m getting older. Turn 50 next year and I just don’t want this type of friendship that is based on some synthetic superiority complex.
We can have opposing views but shouting down, shutting down or throwing out absurd insults is probably way past old for me anymore.
She sounds more like she’d be happy with the company of only those who think like her.
Sad, really. I enjoy hearing from all sides and viewpoints...except Moslems.
Friendship isn’t supposed to be a one-way thing.
Zactly! And that’s getting to be my problem here.
Been there done that back in my 20’s and stopped that crap from ANYONE since.
There is no reason why lib eastern coast states like Maryland (my state) cant hold the election a week from tomorrow, lib gov O Malley may have to give up some of his early voting due to this boo-hoo-hoo.
It is not clear from above. What if a state like Maryland doesn't actually hold an election by Nov 6? They just choose their own electors? In this case I would prefer that. IF the Dems in Maryland general assembly and lib gov Malley gave them to Obama directly rather than this farce of a state election it would make my day.
Our first black Santa Claus Obama says he will refund states any extra election costs for early voting dues to this storm. Wadda a guy, wadda Santa.
You think you hate O? That is nothing compared to what I feel for gov O Malley.
But, what if the Obamas can’t get to the polls?
“The short answer is NO!”
Sure they can. All they need to do is call a Constitutional Convention, change the Constitution to allow us to vote whenever. and then get it passed through the legislature and ratified by the states by next Tuesday.
Easy peasy.
This is yet another reason why the Electoral College method of electing the President is such a brilliant idea, one I hadn’t thought of before. Because if a natural calamity affects an area the size of a state, or several states together, they still do not lose any representation in the Electoral College, even if their turnout is lowered due to said natural calamity.
This storm could seal the deal for Romney in PA.
The answer is no, fear mongering aside. Actually the answer is “give me an effing break with this bull”. THEY WILL CANCEL THE ELECTION has been the nonsense refrain of malconents for ever. Libtards though Bush would cancel 2004, cancel 2008. People on our side thought Osama would cancel 2010. The Governor is not calling Osama with a pardon. NH, PA, VA, any Eastern state we want or need to win does not have the total rat control of the state leg and Governorship to pass election delaying legislation (if they were actually thinking about it seriously which they aren’t unless they are retarded).
If in the future a massive ‘cain hits ON election day that could delay it in a few states I guess like 9/11 delayed local NY elections (it was election day). Extremely low odds.
A better question is can Osama use this to steal the election by “shucking and jiving” with “statesman-like” disaster relief efforts and reminding us all how Bush “let Black people drown” in Dread Katrina or will entry of super boring hurricane news into the news cycle halt the momentum of the indomitable hopefully soon to be KING MITT.
Now if Osama loses 270-268 cause he loses NH by 50 votes and rats sue cause poor New Hampshirites were too busy wringing out their undies to vote it won’t matter either. Republicans do and will still have the House, the ultimate arbiter of any dispute over electors.
As as aside, you can’t name a hurrricane “Sandy”, give them mean sounding names for crap sake. Like “Michelle” or “Rosie O’Donnell”.
Better yet give them all Arabic names. ;p
Rush pulled this nonsense in 2010. He joked that Obama would stop that election. I remember thinking "Oh brother". Don't forget how the Fairness Doctrine would shut down talk radio. About 20 posed threads here claiming that in early 2009.
As this article indicates it takes congress to move the date that the electors are selected but what if a certain state delays their election? Does that hurt them, do they lose their electors or can they just choose their own electors without an election before that date? That is what I was asking.
What’s to be sad about? Abuse is abuse, and life’s too short for such crap. (And it’s also too short to hope for a miracle that “maybe they’ll change”.)
Either the person you thought you knew never was, or the person you knew changed and is no more. In any event, pull the pin, walk away, and don’t look back.
Probably gonna have to.
My life is about fun and doing interesting things and this is starting to feel more like a rut.
Uhng!
Trust me, only person in my life I’ve ever allowed this.
I’m not interested in fighting to get to the middle anymore. That ought to be accorded naturally and it’s just too much work anymore.
Hell, in the last two weeks I’ve been in the middle telling jokes and she just start talking past me and over the punch line like it’s something serious.
Like a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs serious....
I don’t get it and I’m not interested in the psychology of it....
At this point it’s brain dead and on life support stoopit and doesn’t look like there’s a cure for it....
In 1864, with the nation AT WAR on its own soil, we still held a national election. Lincoln furloughed Union troops to come to the cities and vote for him.
Obama said his election was going to cause the waters to recede. What happened?
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