(Image Above) Election Workers In Pennsylvania counting ballots
On November 27th, Philadelphia appeals court ruled that the Trump campaign cannot stop the counting of votes in Pennsylvania. The 21 page ruling states that Trump's legal efforts to stop the voting certification process are illegitimate. Judge Stephanos Bibas, a judge on the court, wrote ," charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here".
This is just one of many of Trump's attempts to try and de-legitimize votes and the voting process. Over the course of the last month, Trump and his team have tried to prevent swing states like Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania from counting votes that were sent in via mail in ballots or absentee ballots. However, Trump hasn't made any moves in these states that would make any huge impact on the election thus far.
It appears that despite little to no success, Trump is still trying to use legal means in order to keep the presidency. Trump will likely continue to bring illegitimate cases of fraud to state and federal courts with little evidence, despite not having much success. However, on Thursday, Trump said that he will leave the White House if Biden is still in the lead in the Electoral College by December 14th. This is as close as he has come to conceding the election so far.
The states have until December 8th to figure out legal disputes. Legal Experts say that Trump will likely not win enough court cases to make a big effect on the election. Despite the lack of evidence of fraud in this election, a majority of Republicans still believe that Trump won the election and that Biden had used fraudulent methods to rig the election in his favor.
7 comments:
As Trump continues to deny the outcome of the 2020 election, it is clear that the majority of the country has had enough. Philadelphia ruling against Trump's appeals to stop counting votes further reinforces the legitimacy of the election, and hinting at the unlikelihood that Trump's false accusations will make significant progress or disruption in the current state of the election results. While Trump warned Americans of his plans to refuse to leave office prior to the election, it is disturbing to see his follow through in bringing cases to courts and questioning the democratic electoral process.
If you listen to some of Trump’s answers to the media’s questions, it almost seems like he believes the election results are going to change. It’s probably delusion, but he might actually believe that “faithless” electors will swing in his favor. While its very uncommon and far fetched, it’s possible that after losing almost al of their legal battles, Trump’s team has bribed some electors to voting for Trump. While there are punishments in 32 states, they are considerably light for how big the effect of a mis vote is, meaning Trump’s team could be covering up the cost of the punishments if electors choose the “wrong” candidate (these punishment do not correct the vote). While this is unlikely, it is still a possibility, and as we know by now, nothing is below Trump. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/04/electoral-college-2020-faithless-electors/6159795002/
It is very, very funny. Watching the recording in court of what Trump is saying and it sounds like improv. He is very good at creating compelling narratives in his mind and that is what made him so popular in the start. It almost makes me believe that maybe he is right, but than I remember, "Oh yeah, there is no evidence what so ever." The good thing about this for Trump is that many Americans are influences by confirmation bias. When they hear Trump talk like this, they fall for the narrative and completely brush over the fact that there is no evidence, just because he is so compelling in the way he speaks. It's certainly been a a very entertaining past four years. I am very curious to see what comes of this blog next semester when there is no Trump to talk about. I guess we will have to diversify the topics we cover on the blog, so sad!
This decision is entirely unsurprising as counting votes is at the foundation of running a legitimate election, and an extension was granted to voters. Not counting their votes would undermine democracy as they were under the impression that their vote would be counted under this extension. I don't think that Trump's intention is to overturn the election results, as even a daft person can see that the effort is moot. He's trying to blow smoke at the incoming Biden administration, most likely as revenge for Democrats asserting that Russia interfered with the 2016 election to Trump's benefit. Even if he turns Pennsylvania, he's still short of the votes he needs to remain in office, and these tactics are turning some of his supporters against him so he's really not helping his cause all around. These narcissistic moves only reveal his desperation and weak leadership.
While this news likely does not surprise many people, I think it is interesting to consider Trump's continuing actions of searching for ways to make the election, and Biden's likely victory for that matter, illegitimate. Trump doing this through legal means such as filing court cases contributes to his supporters fueling his fight and arguments that they are law abiding while Biden/Democrats are fraudulent. While his supporters are willing to believe absolutely all of his claims despite lack of actual evidence, to others this further exposes his actions of lying and desperation, especially in the face of losing. But even for those who know the false nature of his claims, I think there is still some fear that Trump and his administration will somehow obstruct a fair and agreeable transition of power to Biden. And even then, it is slightly worrying (but maybe not surprising) that his supporters continue to blindly follow his claims despite legal experts and other politicians / government officials saying otherwise. So while the US Court of Appeals doing this is to no surprise, I think to many, it still doesn't ensure that Trump is willing to face the truth that he lost– and maybe only a clear concession has the potential to do that.
I do not really understand what Trump is thinking when he asks states to stop counting the votes, and saying that the election is “rigged”. If anything, Trump’s actions make him look very immature and like a sore loser. Like Rosella said, it is very clear that states have had enough of Trump and his poor presidency. Although many people do not believe a word Trump says, he does have a way of manipulating people into believing what he says without any information or evidence to back himself up. No matter how hard Trump tries to convince people Biden winning the election was “illegitimate”, he has no proof, and in the end he will be forced to concede.
I completely agree with Karina's mindset on this matter. I think it's kind of crazy that Trump continues to dispute the results of the election despite the virtually impossible chances of him reversing any of the countings. I know it would be uncharacteristic of him to just quietly and politely accept the results, but his behavior makes him look crazy and immature. What's worse is that millions of Trump supporters are backing up his antics and encouraging him, despite his claims being repeatedly proven false. I also find it really hard to comprehend how conflicting Trump and his supporters' claims were during the vote-counting; how there would be protesters yelling in some states for the votes to stop being counted and for them in others to be shouting about how they need to keep counting. It's shocking and disappointing that a bit under half of the American adult population can be in support of someone like Trump.
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