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Experts fear post-election crisis as Trump sets the stage to dispute the results in November
Unless there is an undeniable November 3 blue tsunami as there was in the 2018 election, I can easily see Trump disputing official election results and asking the courts to save his wretched ass.
7/21/20
Voting experts and political strategists from across the political spectrum are increasingly alarmed about the potential for a disputed presidential election in November, one in which one candidate openly questions the legitimacy of the results or even refuses to concede. These experts are keenly aware of President Donald Trump's well-documented history of lying about voter fraud and claiming that elections were "rigged" when he doesn't like the outcome. They also see a Democratic base that is still burned from 2016, when its nominee was dragged down in part by Russian meddling operation, won the popular vote, and lost to Trump. Interviews with nearly 20 election experts, former lawmakers, political strategists, legal scholars and historians indicate there are widespread fears of a nightmare scenario in November, where Trump's norm-breaking behavior -- coupled with the unprecedented challenges of pandemic-era voting -- test the limits of American democracy and plunge the country into a constitutional crisis. "There's a significant scope for an unprecedented post-election crisis in this country," said Larry Diamond, an expert on democratic institutions at the conservative-leaning Hoover Institution.
Sharpening these concerns, it became clearer than ever over the weekend that Trump is willing to dispute the results. He was repeatedly pressed in a Fox News interview on Sunday, and refused to commit that he will accept the outcome of the election. "I have to see," Trump replied, "No, I'm not going to just say yes. I'm not going to say no, and I didn't last time either." As Trump slides in the polls, he already declared that his matchup this fall against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden "will be the most rigged election in our nation's history." Trump's messaging, coupled with his past behavior, has insiders contemplating what he'll do if he loses. Nonpartisan experts and political strategists told CNN they are afraid that the Supreme Court might once again be called upon to decide the election. Election lawsuits in state and local courts could be appealed up to the Supreme Court, which has a 5-4 conservative majority. These experts also said congressional Republicans will play an important role in influencing Trump's behavior after the election. Though that dynamic could quickly change if Republicans lose their Senate majority, which stands at 53-47 but is in serious danger of slipping away.
Unless there is an undeniable November 3 blue tsunami as there was in the 2018 election, I can easily see Trump disputing official election results and asking the courts to save his wretched ass.