Sources uncovered a potential scenario where Trump could become president even without popular or electoral college votes. The mechanism? It’s called a “contingent election.”
An Unexpected Twist in 2024
Investigators dropped a bombshell about a legal loophole that could see Trump assume power without winning the popular vote, or even the electoral college.
The Contingent Election
They revealed the ‘contingent election,’ a process to deal with no candidate hitting the 270 Electoral College votes threshold.
A Look Back in History
Delving into history, The Guardian’s Stephen Marche cited 1825, when Andrew Jackson won the election but then lost the presidency due to political maneuvering.
A similar fate could await in 2024.
The ‘Corrupt Bargain’
Despite winning both popular and electoral votes, Jackson’s loss echoed the fear of a similar scenario unfolding in the upcoming election.
A Modern-Day Twist
Marche pointed out the revelation’s chances as high: “The possibility of the Electoral College releasing a confusing result, or being unable to certify a satisfying result by two months after the election, is quite real.”
A Well Kept Secret?
Marche argued that the system is an old-fashioned system that is a mystery to most, “The Electoral College, even at its best, is an arcane system, unworthy of a 21st-century country.”
Faithless Electors Growing in Numbers
The specter of faithless electors comes into play, “There have been, up to 2020, 165 faithless electors in American history – electors who didn’t vote for the candidate they had pledged to vote for.”
Virginia’s Bold Move
Looking back at 1836, Marche recalled how Virginia’s faithless electors pushed for a contingent election, “In 1836, Virginia faithless electors forced a contingent election for vice president,” he said.
January 6th Deadline Essential
“If the 270 marker has not been reached by 6th January, the contingent election takes place automatically,” Marche went on to explain.
The Contingent Election’s Criteria
Marche unveiled the mechanics of the contingent election, “the contingent election isn’t decided by the popular votes or the number of Electoral College votes. Each state delegation in the House of Representatives is given a single vote for president. Each state delegation in the Senate is given a single vote for vice president.”
A Legal Loophole
Marche explained the legal basis for this potential outcome, “All that would be required, from a technical, legal standpoint, is for enough Electoral College votes to be uncounted or uncertified for the contingent election to take place, virtually guaranteeing a Republican victory and hence a Trump presidency.”
It’s the Counters That Matter
He went on to explain, “It would be entirely legal and constitutional. It just wouldn’t be recognizably democratic to anyone. Remember that autocracies have elections. It doesn’t matter who votes. It matters who counts.”
Dark Implications for 2024
Marche underlined the true danger of 2024, and it wasn’t the Trump presidency itself, “It’s that the electoral system […] will produce an outcome that won’t be credible to anybody. The danger of 2024 is that it will be the last election.”
Trump’s Potential Presidency
The shocking revelation isn’t just about a Trump presidency; it’s about the collapse of a trustworthy electoral system, leading to an uncertain future for America’s democracy.
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Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Evan El-Amin. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: AlterNet
