President Donald Trump has said he will most likely take legal action if he thinks Tuesday’s election is unfair, especially in Pennsylvania.
“As soon as this election is over, we commented with our lawyers,” Trump said Sunday just before a demonstration in Hickory, North Carolina.
Trump denied a report in Axios that he planned to claim victory if he moved forward in Pennsylvania and many other states on Election Day, even if the ballots were still counted.
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But he also said it would be unfair for Pennsylvania and other states to count the ballots after Tuesday, as they plan to do. At least five counties in Pennsylvania have announced that they will count ballots by mail and mail until the day after Election Day.
“I don’t think it’s fair that we have to wait long after the election,” Trump said, and that would be “a terrible thing. “
Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro said on Twitter that “our election ends when all votes are counted. “
Shapiro, citing past legal victories over Republicans, tweeted trump: “But if his lawyers need to judge us, we will be happy to return him to court. “
States never count all votes on voting day, especially absentee and army votes. This year, given the vote by mail because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some states have said they will settle for ballots in the days after Election Day. of the states where Trump spoke Sunday, said he could count the ballots won until November 12.
Pennsylvania counts all mail ballots won on November 6 after the U. S. Supreme Court last week rejected a challenge from state Republicans to re-impose a deadline on voting day.
However, mailed ballots won after Tuesday will be separated from those won earlier. If the state proves to be essential, the Superior Court can simply file the GOP’s challenge after the election.
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin do not begin processing ballots by mail until Election Day. Michigan is only one day ahead. Republican-controlled legislatures in states that have selected not to replace their legislation to allow for a pre-election remedy despite tension from local election officials.
That means Trump has a big advantage when the initial effects, which usually come with face-to-face votes on Election Day probably in Trump’s favor, will be released on election night in Pennsylvania. absentee ballots are counted, however, it can take days or even weeks.
In any case, Trump simply claims to be the winner of the election; It is up to pennsylvania officials and other states to claim the winners of their electoral votes.
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The theory that Trump would claim victory preemptively is based on many variables: on the one hand, he would want to be ahead in one or two states to approve the 270 electoral votes for re-election.
There’s no doubt Trump would be in that position. Polls show him in careers in content line with Democrat Joe Biden in several states he needs, adding Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa, such as Pennsylvania.
It may take several days for the final effects of one of these states to be known.
With respect to litigation, some analysts would be interested in counting the ballots. The 2000 Supreme Court case between George W. Bush and Al Gore went about the vote count in Florida, not the initial recount.
Many political analysts have said Trump is the floor to challenge the credibility of elections in the occasion of a defeat.
“This is a story about Trump to undermine religion in democracy,” survey analyst Nate Silver, editor-in-chief of The FiveThirtyEight website, tweeted.