Trump has let us doubt our Democracy. Let’s take back the power.
Trump has let us doubt our Democracy. Let’s take back the power.
Baylynne Brunetti / Asst. Opinion Editor
With the tumultuous election finally here, Americans are antsy, and frankly terrified, for a multitude of reasons. The uncertainty of who will win, claims of voter fraud, fear of Trump refusing to leave office, Bush v. Gore coming back to haunt us — all of this has trapped us in a nightmare that none of us seem to be able to wake up from. We have been through a lot in the past four years in terms of political turmoil, political movements, and a worldwide pandemic. It is not productive for me to write in fear of what happens if President Trump refuses to step down from office if he is voted out. That dialogue will fuel the doubt that our institutions cannot handle our election, which is simply not the case. Never before have we had such serious doubt about our democracy until Trump was elected.
Recently, President Trump has riled up the country to believe that voter fraud is a problem, and that he may not leave office if he believes that there was in fact voter fraud during the 2020 election. This is all a ploy to continue to drive fear into our nation to keep up the dramatics. This country is not a reality show and it is time to let us get back to the issues that matter. Contrary to his belief, Trump does not have the power to declare our election fraudulent, demand for a recount of votes, or refuse to leave office.
According to Casey Dominguez, Ph.D., a political science professor at University of San Diego, there is a constitutional remedy for a President who refuses to leave office and accept the results of an election. That remedy consists of the House of Representatives choosing the next President, if absolutely necessary. Each state delegation in the House would receive one vote. It is otherwise known as a contingent election. However, this constitutional protection will likely not have to be used, because we will probably not need it.
Even with the various forms of voting taking place during this election, it is more than likely that we will know the election results by the end of the week. This fear that our electorate systems cannot handle influxes of mail-in ballots is an insult to those who work hard in these institutions. Plenty of states, such as Oregon, have had mail-in ballots as their primary voting source for years. This is by no means a new, experimental method of voting.
It is also improbable that the Supreme Court will become involved. The case of Bush v. Gore has been brought up recently in regards to this election going to the Supreme Court. First and foremost, let’s break down what Bush v. Gore was about. In the 2000 presidential election, candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush had a very close election in the state of Florida. The Gore campaign advocated for recounts of all undervotes, which are ballots that the voting machine had missed, and the Florida Supreme Court granted a recount of those votes. The United States Supreme Court granted an emergency stay to the Bush campaign, who had been actively seeking to stop the recount. An emergency stay is used to temporarily stop a judicial proceeding. In this case, this was the Gore campaign suing for a recount of votes. Due to the different standards of counting ballots that each county had, the Court ruled that this was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This halted the recount and allowed Bush to win the election. This case was a rare occurrence in our democracy and has little implication in this election. The Supreme Court even stated that this case should not be used as precedent. So, it is not likely this will ever occur again and should not be used as a grounds of fear to cast doubt in this current election.
The fact of the matter is that on election day, votes will be tallied. The states will certify their elections and their votes. On Dec. 14, the Electoral College will cast their votes and we will officially have either Donald Trump as president for four more years, or Joe Biden will be the new President of the United States. The drama that has unfolded around this election plays into the reality show dialogue that Trump has spewed for the past four years. Our election systems can handle mail-in ballots, early voting, absentee ballots and in-person voting. We are stronger than the fears that have been controlling us and we have little reason to doubt our election laws or voting infrastructures.
The views expressed in the editorial and op-ed sections are not necessarily those of The USD Vista Staff, the University of San Diego, or its student body.