Corona virus: Can US President Donald Trump postpone elections?

On the one hand, if the Corona virus outbreak has slowed and stopped the US economy, on the other hand, it is also a threat to the democratic process of the United States in the national election year.

The primary elections are either delayed or interrupted because polling stations are closed and the voting process in absenteeism is clouding doubts.

Politicians are in fierce controversy over the electoral process and are waging war in the courts.

In November, American voters are choosing thousands of candidates for the state government, along with many new presidential and congressional candidates.

But how these elections will happen and whether they can be done on time or not is a matter in itself.

Will President Trump postpone elections?

Currently 15 states have delayed the presidential primary election, and most of them plan to take it to the end of June.

This raises the important question of whether the November presidential election will be delayed because of it.

According to a law of the year 1845, the United States presidential election is held every four years, the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. Which means that this year, November 3, 2020 marks the date of the elections.

To change this law, Congress would have to make a new law, and it would have to get approval from the Democratic Party-majority House of Representatives and the Republican-majority Senate.

In addition, even if the voting day is changed, the administration of a president in the US Constitution can only last four years. In other words, President Donald Trump's first term in any case ends on the afternoon of January 20, 2021.

If they are re-elected, they will get another four years. If he loses, he will be replaced by Biden, the Democrat. But the clock is running and the delay in voting cannot stop it.

What happens if elections are delayed ?

If elections do not take place before the scheduled opening day, the presidential succession will run. Mike Pence is the second vice-president in the queue, but since his term in office is ending on the same day as the president, it means that both are on the same boat.

He is followed by Nancy Pelosi of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, but his second term ends in December.

If a situation like the resurrection arises, then the most senior candidate for president is Chuck Gresley, an 86-year-old Republican candidate from Iowa, who is the temporary president of the Senate. In this case, it is worth noting that if Republicans lose one-third of their 100 seats in the Senate at the end of the presidential term, will they have a majority?

This situation falls under the purview of political science, rather than purely real politics.

But can the virus interfere with the election?

An obvious change in the history of the presidential election is unpredictable, but that does not mean that the electoral process is not in danger.

According to election law expert and Richard L. Hesson of the University of California Irvine, Trump or state governments using their emergency powers can drastically reduce voting by reaching the polling place.

For example, 175 of the 180 polling stations in Milwaukee, the largest city in the state, have recently been polled due to a lack of polling workers or volunteers, and fear of being infected with the virus in Wisconsin's primary recently. Had to be closed.

If such measures were taken keeping in mind the political interests, then the stronghold of the opposition party could be targeted and this could have affected the results of the elections.

Can states challenge the results?

Hessen presents another unusual situation that is largely unpredictable. Legislators can withdraw the authority to decide which candidates will win in their state in the general election, given the concerns raised about the virus.

It is not constitutional that a state should support a presidential candidate who wins the popular vote or does not have to vote for the election of a state president.

It all depends on the Electoral College. It is an out-of-date American institution in which every state has 'electors', who elect to vote for the president. Under normal circumstances, selectors (almost always) support those who get the populist vote in their state.

But they do not necessarily follow it. For example, in the 1800 elections, lawmakers from many states told their constituents how to vote for them and reject the popular vote.

Hesson says if the state takes such a "drastic" step today, it will likely result in bigger street protests. And that too when a public demonstration is allowed during the quarantine and social distance decree.

Can it be legally challenged?

The recent experience of Wisconsin's primary could be an alarming warning of disruption to the electoral process. And it's not just because of the limited space available for in-person voting, there will be long queues, but there will also be soldiers and volunteers from the National Guard in protective clothing.

Before the day of voting for the primary, Republicans controlling the Democrats' governor Tony Evers and the state House were involved in a major legal battle that ultimately led the United States Supreme Court to decide whether to delay the governor's vote until June. Voting history can be extended for those who have legal authority or are unable to attend.

In March, Ohio Republican Governor Mike Devine fought a similar legal battle to delay the primary election in his state.

On Wednesday, a federal Texas state judge issued an order declaring the Corona virus concern justifying the absentee ballot application in the November affidavit. On the other hand, the terms of voting or postal ballots in the country are very strict.

What changes can reduce risk?
In a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 66 percent of Americans said they were satisfied to go to the polling station and vote in the current public health crisis.

Such concerns have raised the pressure on states to extend voting by letter or mail to avoid the potential risk of being infected by going to the polling station itself.

Every state has some way of voting remotely, but the conditions for eligibility are different.

Hesson said: 'Our system is very decentralized. States have a lot of discounts to do things on their own. "

Elections in five western U.S. states, including Washington, Oregon, and Colorado, are delivered via mail-in-ballot. Some places, like California, which request postal belts are allowed postal belts.

Why don't some states get postal voting?
On the other hand, voters in 17 states will have to give concrete reasons for the postal ballot, which is why they cannot vote at the polling booth by themselves so that they can be allowed to vote in an absurd way. In these states, it is being demanded that the terms be relaxed so that it can be easy to obtain a disappointing vote, but some leaders are not in favor of it.

Missouri Republican Governor Mike Parsons said Tuesday that access to the covert belt is a 'political issue' and said the fear of being exposed to the virus does not in itself cover the terms of the missing belt.

Republicans have expressed similar concerns in several other states, including North Carolina and Georgia.

Congress can interfere in that and tell states to set a minimum level of voting for national elections by absentee voting or by mail, but given the bipartisan divide in the US Capitol, it has little hope. Is.

Will the political parties agree to protect the elections?
no. In the case of severe polarization in modern politics, it is not surprising that during the epidemic, there should be intense debate on how elections should be held or what changes should be made.

Donald Trump himself has opposed the mail-in-waiting, saying it has a lot of potential for fraud. He also pointed out that softening voting restrictions could hurt Republican candidates.

He said in a recent interview with Fox News: "They have voting rights. If you ever agree to this, then no Republican will ever be elected in this country."

But mail-in-voting will do more harm to the Conservatives, but there is mixed and divided opinion because Republicans often use the absentee ballot more often than the Democrats.

Is American Democracy at Risk?

The outbreak of the Corona virus is affecting every aspect of American life. While Trump and other politicians are trying to bring life back to normalcy, many states have set a new date for their primary election and party conventions are due in August, with presidential debates scheduled in October or so. Voting for the presidential candidate in November is no guarantee that everything will be fine by June.

Under normal circumstances, the drum of national political interests and activities begins to ring in the months leading up to the boom of election day. Currently, there are clouds of skepticism over everything and for some people the foundations of American democracy are shaking.

Hassan, author of a recent book titled 'Election Meltdown: Dirty Trucks, Destruction, and the Threat to American Democracy', says that the 2020 elections were already in place before the virus took effect Was very upset about accepting the results of because we are too polarized and misinformed. '

'The virus has added to this concern.'