Trump might try to steal the election, but he probably wouldn't succeed - Boston Globe

[Quixote1818]

Even if he claims on election night that he won, a lot of other things would have to happen for him to get away with it.
By Michael A. Cohen Contributor, Updated September 27, 2020, 3:00 a.m.

After four years of shredding practically every democratic tradition in American politics, President Trump’s actions last week represented a dangerous new front. On successive days, he refused to commit to the peaceful transfer of power should he lose the presidential election, because — according to Trump — the widespread use of mail-in ballots will be unfair to him. This comes on the heels of a major article in the Atlantic that lays out a strategy Trump and his GOP enablers could use to, in effect, steal the election.

The collective freakout that followed is understandable, but it feels disconnected from reality. The fact is, to steal the election Trump would have to rely on an extraordinary confluence of events — dominoes lined up one after another and falling in precise order.

For example, one scenario being floated imagines that Trump is leading in key battleground states on election night and declares himself the victor before all mail-in ballots are counted. Then he questions the legitimacy of those ballots and tries to get Republican legislators in battleground states to appoint pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College, irrespective of the final outcome.

To call this far-fetched is putting it mildly. Nearly every poll, going back to the spring, shows Trump losing badly to Joe Biden. If Biden wins by a significant margin there’s a good chance we’ll know that on election night, making any effort to steal the election largely moot.

More: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/27/opinion/trump-might-try-steal-election-he-probably-wouldnt-succeed/

[duforsure]

1. He wants to take away the American people's vote

By letting it instead be decided by the court, which he's likely trying to corrupt for himself.

[Hoyt]

2. Good to see some links to articles that aren't pushing "trump's gonna steal it." GOTV.

[LastDemocratInSC]

3. Invalidating the mail in ballots

would affect every candidate named on those ballots. State level politicians will fight such a move because it will put them at risk.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. A number of states will start counting the mailed in ballots

well ahead of November 3rd. Those numbers will be the first ones released at the close of polling on that day. Some states stupidly won't start counting until that morning, and those will have very delayed results.

Plus, there's a lot of early in-person voting. I don't know what the numbers typically are, but again, those votes will be counted as things go along and will be released on that Tuesday evening.

All of which means Biden will start with a huge and commanding lead that night. One that will not be made up by all his voters who won't mail in a ballot and may or may not make it to a polling place that day.

[world wide wally]

5. A few days ago I saw asshole Linsey Graham explain that before the winner of the Presidential

Election is announced, it must go through the Supreme Court as is this is S.O.P.
"Then they will announce who the winner is"