Sanders tells Maher 'there will be a number of plans' to remove Trump if he loses

The Hill ^ | 09 26 2020 | Tal Axelrod

[Spirochete]

Could it be that the Enemedia will work together to coordinate fake results? The same thing that CNN says is the same thing that CBS says, the same thing that NBC says, etc., etc.?

Ever head Rush Limbaugh's audio montages of media parroting each other? Of course they will coordinate. They do it every day.

[Captain Rhino]

Nope.

The oath I and every member of the armed forces takes at every enlistment and every promotion is to support and defend the Constitution and obey the LAWFUL orders of superior officers and/or enlisted (depending on your rank).

Once a winner is certified and assumes office, he or she is President and Commander-in-Chief and the Armed Forces are obligated to obey their lawful orders until told by civil authorities not to.

If law governing this contingency (presidential term of office expiring during an extended dispute over the results of the Presidential Election) does not already exist, an emergency session of Congress could be called in November-December to pass appropriate legislation.

However, the United States has faced this problem before. The Presidential Election of 1876 resulted in a dispute over 20 electoral votes from 4 states:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1876_United_States_presidential_election

Ultimately, a 15 member Electoral Commission was created by Congress to resolve the disputed electoral ballots. The commissions membership was made up of 5 members from the House, 5 members from the Senate, and 5 from the Supreme Court.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Commission_(United_States)

This is a link to the text of the 1877 Electoral Commission Act:

(Good luck trying to read it.)

https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/19/STATUTE-19-Pg227.pdf

Ultimately the Republican Hayes “won” the election by 1 vote but the price exacted by the Democrats was the end of Reconstruction in the South and the subsequent rise of the Democrat Redeemer administrations who disenfranchised black voters and implemented Jim Crow laws.

Two points of difference between 1877 and 2020:

1. In 1877, Inauguration Day was in early March. There were nearly 4 months between Election Day and Inauguration Day to resolve the crisis. However, in 1932, the date was changed to late January to allow President-elect Roosevelt to assume office early and begin dealing with the Great Depression crisis. Consequently, there are now only about 2 1/2 months to resolve any electoral vote disputes and prepare for the new administration.

2. The 1877 law, which has been updated periodically in the years since, only deals with election matters. There are no provisions in it for the exercise of Presidential powers in the event of a prolonged dispute. There was no need given the length of time available to resolve the dispute. That time is now collapsed. Electoral college votes are now counted in early December. The corrupt and uncooperative Democrats are guaranteed to bust that date unless there is a landslide for Trump.

Republicans will probably never agree to allow the Speaker of the House (as third in-line) to exercise them, especially if it is Nancy Pelosi. In addition, the contingencies enumerated in the 25th Amendment do not appear to apply in this situation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

So some sort of contingency arrangement may have to be legislated if the haggling looks like it will go beyond 20 January 2021.

[BunnySlippers]

Does anyone else think that they are going to try to remove Trump before this hellacious election is over?

[Mr. Jeeves]

"Sanders tells Maher 'there will be a number of plans' to remove Trump if he loses..."

...the popular vote - which will be their standard for "losing."