Random election question

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by tango, Nov 13, 2020.

  1. tango

    tango ... and you shall live ... Staff Member

    If we take it as given that Biden has won the election in enough states to get 270+ electoral college votes, and also take it as given that Trump has zero chance of overturning enough of the results to change that, is he actually President-elect yet?

    The media seems to be falling over itself to describe him as President-elect but does he actually gain that title until after the electoral college meets and votes? At this stage all the people have done is cast a ballot to nominate the electoral college voters for their state.

    Assuming Trump is unable to overturn results it's only a matter of time so it's a bit of a point of pedantry, I'm just curious exactly how it works. It seems a bit like my fiancee calling herself my wife as she enters the church, as opposed to waiting until after the minister pronounced us husband and wife.
     
  2. Athanasius

    Athanasius Life is not a problem to be solved Staff Member

    He's only officially President-elect when the election results are ratified, and this wouldn't be the first time the press has announced a winner who ultimately wasn't -- if it turns out that Trump's legal challenges are sufficiently winning. It's probably safe to talk as if so-and-so is President-elect if the results are that obvious, but just as one's fiance might back out of the wedding at the last moment, nothing is guaranteed until all is said and done.
     
  3. teddyv

    teddyv The horse is in the barn. Staff Member

    Where have you seen substantive success in legal challenges? There are some legitimate concerns but there does not appear to be anything sufficient to swing any states.
     
  4. Athanasius

    Athanasius Life is not a problem to be solved Staff Member

    Nothing yet in the current election, hence the conditional. I have in mind, generally, everyone's go-to example: Gore, Florida, 2000. Do I think something similar is going to happen this time? Probably not, but I also wouldn't want to get ahead of myself. Just because things look a certain way doesn't mean that's how they'll end up.
     
  5. teddyv

    teddyv The horse is in the barn. Staff Member

    I just realized I missed the "if" in your post.
     
    Athanasius likes this.
  6. tango

    tango ... and you shall live ... Staff Member

    That's what I would have thought. I'm curious at the way the media is rushing to refer to "President-elect Joe Biden" as if it were a done deal. It certainly looks like the most likely outcome from here, it just also seems that when every which way we turn everything is "President-elect" it looks like they are just gearing up to refer to a stolen election if it doesn't go as expected.

    It seems unlikely that Trump will win enough legal challenges to flip state results and it seems equally unlikely that the EC members who are expected to vote for Biden will flip and vote for Trump. But it still seems that the media is jumping the gun - is it really so important to assign the "president elect" tag to someone before anyone else does it?
     
  7. RabbiKnife

    RabbiKnife Open the pod bay door, please HAL. Staff Member

    Propaganda is strong

    intent is to delegitimize court process

    attempt to further denigrate rule of law
     
  8. IMINXTC

    IMINXTC Time Bandit

    Defiantly hold on, inflame the masses and claim injustice in hopes that your political base and key loyalists will stage a coup. Not going to happen, but, well...
     

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