The Trump campaign is reportedly 'discussing contingency plans to bypass election results'

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Trump's campaign is discussing "contingency plans" that would involve bypassing the result of November's election, reports The Atlantic.

The report delves into possible scenarios if Trump apparently loses the 2020 presidential election but doesn't concede, noting that although we're used to electors being selected based on the popular vote, "nothing in the Constitution says it has to be that way." Citing Republican Party sources, The Atlantic says that Trump's campaign is "discussing contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority."

The campaign would reportedly assert that this step was necessary due to claims of supposed voter fraud, which experts have noted is extraordinarily rare, ahead of the "safe harbor" deadline to appoint 538 electors on Dec. 8.

"Trump would ask state legislators to set aside the popular vote and exercise their power to choose a slate of electors directly," The Atlantic reports. "The longer Trump succeeds in keeping the vote count in doubt, the more pressure legislators will feel to act before the safe-harbor deadline expires."

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-campaign-reportedly-discussing-contingency-153100735.html?soc_src=hl-viewer&soc_trk=tw

[beachbumbob]

1. laughable

[sweetloukillbot]

5. I honestly don't know if I should be terrified

Or if this is just massive gaslighting.

I know there are a lot of people who are scared of this election, and of Trump, and I wonder how much is just him trying to get in our heads or fire up his base.

But if he could convince enough to go along with this?

[Thekaspervote]

9. Ain't happening

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/07/14/supreme-courts-faithless-electors-decision-validates-case-for-the-national-popular-vote-interstate-compact/

[sweetloukillbot]

10. It's just sensory overload.

I expect this won't be a "normal" election, but I don't expect the nightmare scenarios either.
But every day there's a new nightmare scenario.
It's tiring.

[Thekaspervote]

13. Oh it is!

I spent the better part of a decade of my professional career in a helicopter transferring patients that were sooo close to meeting their maker.

This.....is harder! Seriously..

[beachbumbob]

18. part of the program to harvest doubt and seed chaoss to throw as much garbage out there

to mentally wear us out. If Goebbels was alive today, this is how he be directing the trump campaign

[Crunchy Frog]

25. I think what that ruling means is that electors who are pledged to a particular candidate...

must vote for the candidate they are pledged to. This ruling doesn't say anything about which slate of electors are chosen to vote in the EC, or how they are chosen.

I don't think there's anything in there saying that the slate of electors must be chosen by the popular vote and can't be chosen by the state legislature instead.

I think that's the issue that Spankey trying to argue, and that people here are worried about.

If you can reassure me about that particular issue, I'd certainly appreciate it.

[moonscape]

24. Doubt I'll stop being terrified until

after Biden has been inaugurated. In the interim: Pinot noir! GOTV letter-writing campaign!

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

30. Trump and Company are targeting low/no information voters.

We have to make sure EVERYONE votes. People that support him are in the minority.

[BannonsLiver]

2. Cool. Let's see if we can get another couple dozen doomy OPs about this

[Thekaspervote]

6. Okay!!

[FloridaBlues]

3. Right.. good luck with that Trump

[I_UndergroundPanther]

4. Fucking traitors

The republican party needs to be removed stopped and never be elected again.

[andym]

7. The GOP is power mad: they've thrown any principles they had out the window

who knows what a GOP-controlled legislature may do under the malevolent influence of Trump.
The will to gerrymander at the state level, and the impeachment and SC pick illustrate the problem most clearly.

[Escurumbele]

8. If anything, Democrats need to make a list of all these cheating

So when in power they can make laws to avoid crooks from trying them.

[peggysue2]

11. I think we have to take this boast/threat seriously

Autocrats have a habit of announcing exactly what they plan to do. There should be a howl going up about these so-called 'contingency plans.' It's not as if Trump hasn't already floated outrageous balloons into the ether. Delaying the election, for instance.

Biden is absolutely correct--Trump plans to steal the election in any way he can.

[dawg]

12. I agree with you.

Too many people here want to laugh at such concerns and pedantically dismiss them as unrealistic. I can't help but wonder what country they've been living in the last four years. They certainly haven't been living in my America.

I desperately hope that high-ranking and powerful people on our side have thoroughly planned ways of responding to extra-Constitutional attempts to steal this election. If an unthinkable situation were to arise, I'd be ready to follow their leadership and do my part.

But without leadership, I can't really do much on my own. Except maybe throw cans of tuna fish.

[Thekaspervote]

14. Just MHO, I don't think anyone here is laughing off concerns or calling them unrealistic

Just because I’m not publicly wringing my hands doesn’t mean I’m not scared shitless for the outcome.

Spreading doom and gloom is infective and not helpful

Let’s say that he wants to discard all the mail in ballots. This election is not just about him. If a gop congress critter is behind and mail in ballots aren’t counted? Think they are gonna squawk? Or if he’s behind and all the ballots haven’t been counted? What then?

You think even a conservative SCOTUS is going to go along with a cluster f..k like that?

There’s no grounds.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/07/14/supreme-courts-faithless-electors-decision-validates-case-for-the-national-popular-vote-interstate-compact/

[dawg]

15. There's no grounds for the current court challenge to the ACA, and yet ...

Republican judge after Republican judge has supported it anyway.

For that matter, there was no legal basis for the ruling in Bush v. Gore, and the court specifically indicated that the decision shoudn't be used to establish precedent. It was a naked power move, nothing more. (And that was a more respectable court than this one.)

I *DO* think a conservative SCOTUS would go along with a clusterfuck like that. They have already lost all legitimacy in my eyes.

[peggysue2]

16. Truly, I am not into the doom&gloom sing-along

I fully expect we're going to win this thing but . . .

I think we need to keep in mind that every dirty trick out there is going to be played. If I think that then I'm convinced Biden's team and the Democratic Party is well aware of what's brewing behind the scenes and will have countermeasures in place. This election is going to be ugly, ugly, ugly. As ugly as Trump. He's already amassed a huge army of Election Day 'monitors' to weed out suspicious characters at the polls. In the past, Trump and his goons would have needed a judge's consent but that ruling was allowed to expire. Which leaves the barn door wide open.

That being said, it's easy IMHO to pass off Trump's outrageous comments as simple bloviating, but he and his crew of enablers are dead serious in creating absolute mayhem around this election. That's all I'm saying. Or at least, that's all I meant to say--stay sharp because we haven't seen the worst of it.

[Tiger8]

17. I agree. How many have "predicted" Trump's demise?

Trump has gotten his way 100% of the time.

A solid 30% of voters want him no matter what. You could show them videos of Trump killing babies, or taking bribes from Putin, and they would still support him. I've had more of than a few of them tell me they would take a bullet, or shoot a bullet on Trump's command.

[Tommymac]

23. I'm really scared.

Just get the fuck out and VOTE. It's all ordinary people can do…and it is the most powerful thing ANY people can do...collectively WE THE PEOPLE hold the power.

[Tiger8]

33. We may called on to do more. A lot more.

I agree....VOTE. And unite behind the Biden/Harris and the Democrats.

But this is un-chartered territory. If Biden has the election stolen by Trump/Republicans seizing power, with his supporters in the police/military taking over as they've planned - then voting,. protesting or posting memes on social media isn't going to cut it anymore. Strongly worded editorials in the NYT will be useless.

[Tommymac]

34. Welcome to DU... and my ignore.

[SWBTATTReg]

19. These desperate thugs will try anything and everything to throw the election, and failing this (...

which is looking more and more Mr. Biden is going to walk away with the election win), will cheat and try to steal the election. Even if Biden wins w/ a sizable majority which is what it is looking like more and more. Be on guard. Protest angrily if some try to hijack the election results. I'm also sure that Mr. Biden will have a cast of thousands of lawyers and such, ready to go at a moment's notice. Be ready to help with donations or any other such aid as they may issue a call to all of us to aid them in their efforts to preserve the win.

[Tiger8]

35. Even against bare knuckled physical force?

Trump has said many times, "Our side has the guns."

These goons have been bred for 30+ years by Limbaugh, Pat Robertson, Andrew Breitbar, Dr. Laura, Fox News, NRA, The Christian Coalition, Michael Savage, Newt Gingrich, Michael Reagan, Alex Jones, etc. for just this moment.

[SWBTATTReg]

36. I never advocate violence. To those that practice it, call the police, let them deal w/ it. They

do far more damage to themselves if they descend into violence and thus, become part of the mob that trump is, in theory, against (although I suspect trump is pushing for violence somehow, not coming directly right out and saying it). There are enough people in the world that have their heads and wits about them, and are not about to descend into chaos to prove their pathetic points.

[bucolic_frolic]

20. Prepare for legal conflict

In a best case scenario, Biden is declared the winner by a comfortable margin, let's say more than 300 ECV. Several states are still to complete their counting which takes 7-21 days. The Biden campaign declares victory. The networks run with it. Then the Trump campaign declares victory. We'll be 3 months extinguishing the Trump really won bonfires in the courts. And Trump continues to try to lobby - buy? - state electors. Understand this is the last stand for the Republican Party. If they lose this they are done. So they will try anything.

The Biden Campaign should never concede. Anything. Not one state. Not one county. Just keep declaring victory.

[lindysalsagal]

21. so we all refuse to pay taxes

and let "the electors" pay.

[Blue_true]

22. Per the Constitution, Electors must be selected on Election Day.

If a state doesn’t do that, Congress can over-rule it’s choice of Electors. Another reason why we need to vote and take ALL of Congress.

[Crunchy Frog]

26. Where does it say that in the Constitution?

There are several weeks after the election before the electoral votes are cast.

They didn't even have the ability to count all the votes on election day when the Constitution was written.

Please don't post complete misinformation when we already have enough real things to worry about.

[Blue_true]

27. Electors must be selected on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

That would be Election Day. States this year have until December 8 to certify results (that involves finishing the counting, and canvassing prescient to confirm that their results match that which a state will report as final and certified).

[Crunchy Frog]

28. In other words, the election is held on election day, and

the electors must be determined and certified by December 8. So your earlier post was incorrect. Thank you for clarifying.

[calclar]

29. The civil unrest is predictable....

...according to Thom Hartmann and his guest/authors of recent months.

[oldsoftie]

31. Yet ANOTHER reason we need to VOTE IN PERSON. Are we not ready to sacrfice a couple hours??

The fewer mail in ballots the better. the margin of victory ON election day needs to be HUGE. Then trump will be begging for mail ins to be counted.

GO to the polls today, next week, election day.
99% chance you're NOT going to get sick.

Exceptions for anyone with physical ailments who usually dont vote in person.

[Bengus81]

32. Hell..I don't care if it takes a day or two. Let that FAT POS flop sweat it out

My mail in ballot WILL be counted and I get verification that it was received.