Trump suggests postponing elections and generates reactions 2:11
(CNN Spanish) - Less than 100 days before the presidential election, President Donald Trump has sparked a new controversy: he said he could postpone the election amid the worst public health crisis the United States has suffered in a century.
President Donald Trump explicitly suggested postponing the November presidential election, saying, without showing evidence, that a vote by mail would be fraudulent.
With universal postal voting (not absentee voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACTIVE and FRAUDULENT election in history. It will be a great shame for the United States, ”she wrote on Twitter. "Delaying the election until people can vote properly and safely?"
Trump's tweet comes at a time when the Federal Government reported the worst economic contraction in recorded history, and when Trump lags behind polls on alleged Democratic candidate Joe Biden's intention to vote.
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But Trump's proposal is not a new issue in Washington, because this election year had been discussed on the subject of statements by Jared Kushner to TIME magazine, in which Trump's son-in-law, who is also a National Security adviser, outlined the proposal. At that time, the White House distanced itself from the comments saying no, which is a matter that is not the responsibility of the government, since the electoral date is a matter for Congress. Even Trump said he had not thought about that and that the elections would be held on November 3.
But now, less than three months from Election Day, the story changed and Trump explicitly called for the elections to be postponed. But the answer remains the same: NO, Trump cannot change to his liking on Election Day.
Why?
Because the general election is a federal law placed in the Constitution since 1845, and in its article II it says that it will take place:
"The Tuesday following the first Monday in November, in each even year, is established as the day of the election, in each of the States and Territories of the United States, of Representatives and Delegates to Congress who begin (their mandate) the third the day after January thereafter ».
This year the election is set for November 3 — although many people vote before or by mail, and it is expected that this year they will do so more than ever due to the covid-19 pandemic — and changing that date is highly unlikely. .
“It has no role to play with on Election Day, when, how, what day it is inaugurated. There is no authority. It's all in Congress, ”constitutional lawyer Joseph Malouf told CNN en Español from Washington.
This is where Elie Honig, CNN legal analyst agrees: "The president cannot absolutely change or postpone unilaterally the date of the general election or his term in the Oval Office."
The power of Congress
Neither the president nor his staff can postpone the general election, even if - as now - the country faces a general emergency, says a 2004 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. That power to modify the Constitution rests solely with Congress, which can approve a statute that changes the date of the election, but cannot cancel the elections completely.
And is there a possibility that Congress wants to change the date?
"To change the date Congress would have to do it," Frida Ghittis said on CNN en Español, noting the difficulty of a date change due to the partisan division that is on Capitol Hill.
"The Republican-controlled Senate, which is controlled by Trump, can do it. But it would also have to be approved by the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats, so it is not going to happen. Elections are going to take place in November as expected, "said Ghittis.
But although it is "theoretically" possible, according to Honig, they could not be postponed for a long time: "Even if they did, they can only move on election day for a couple of weeks because the Constitution and the 20th amendment tell us that the presidential mandate It ends on January 20, whatever happens, "said Honig.
Amendment 20
CNN interviewed dozens of electoral experts, former legislators, political strategists, legal scholars and historians who say there is widespread fear that a nightmare scenario will be generated in November, due to a possible refusal by Trump to acknowledge the results, should he lose .
"There is significant scope for an unprecedented post-election crisis in this country," Larry Diamond, a conservative-leaning expert on democratic institutions at the Hoover Institution, told CNN.
Sharpening these concerns, it became clearer than ever over the weekend that Trump is willing to dispute the results. He was repeatedly pressured in a Fox News interview on Sunday and refused to agree to accept the election result.
"I have to see," Trump replied, "No, I'm not going to say yes. I'm not going to say no, and I didn't do it the last time either.
Malouf points out that Trump is a "professional litigator" and that he fights them with legal arguments. When Trump says that there will be fraud, that it is necessary to count and bring the election to various courts, "he mistakenly thinks that by doing so he can remain in power," said Malouf.
But whether or not Trump acknowledges the election results, there is a tool in the Constitution that puts a limit on his mandate, in case he fails to beat Biden in the November election: the 20th Amendment.
So if the president wants to stay in power for a year litigating the results of the election, he can only stay in office until January 20 at noon. And staying in litigation will not only take time, it could cost Republicans power.
«[The litigation] It is not applicable in the sense that it would be the president of the Lower House, in this case Nancy Pelosi, who would take power, because according to the Constitution, the president and vice-president no longer after January 20 have power, "said Malouf.
Researchers in Congress believe that only one federal election has been postponed - the 2018 one for the nonvoting delegate in the House of Representatives for the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory that was devastated by a super typhoon before the election.
Delays in state and local elections have occurred in some states, such as in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and in New York City, which was scheduled to hold a mayoral primary on September 11.
But historically, general elections have been held on the date the Constitution mandates, regardless of whether there was a civil war, or the Great Depression, says Malouf.
And the Constitution notes that Trump's current term expires on January 20, 2021, regardless of whether elections are held in November.
- With information from Kevin Liptak, Betsy Klein, Betsy Klein, Abby Phillip, Chris Cillizza, Zachary B. Wolf and Marshall Cohen of CNN.
Donald Trump 2020 United States Elections