What if the election results are contested?

[GilpinGuy]

Serious question. Many of you guys are wiser than me in the ways of Constitutional law, so what happens if there is an accusation or even evidence of WIDESPREAD voter fraud - like nationwide electronic tampering?

Example:
Trump somehow wins by 0.1% popular vote AND the electoral vote.

The left screams "The Russians rigged the election - we saw it coming and tried to defend against it but we couldn't!"

Does someone (Hitlary) have to file suit to contest the results? That's what happened with that soy fed mangina Al Gore, right?

I just predict a shitstorm of angst and litigation no matter who "wins" and am wondering how it will play out.


What if the [insert proper authorities here] declare the election null and void? Is there a mechanism in the Constitution for this?

[Great-Kazoo]

Believe you're going to hear bolts closing from both sides of the aisle, if the results were voided.

[Dave_L]

With all the wikileaks coming out showing the corruption...things will be turbulent, either way at this point, IMO.

[CS1983]

Will the bread and circuses be gluten free and approved by PETA and the UN Human Rights Council?

[Rucker61]

Jade Helm.

[spqrzilla]

The Constitution answers this question. Each state chooses electors by the process it has established. Then those electors send their votes to Congress. If Congress certifies the result, there is no appeal to courts. The Constitution puts the responsibility for certifying the result, and of choosing the President if there is not a majority of electoral votes (currently 270) on the House of Representatives.

Article I, section 1; the 12th Amendment and 20th Amendment

[Circuits]

The last resort for contesting the vote is an individual state's (and DC) certification of its vote for purposes of choosing their electors. Once a state's electors meet, and cast their votes, those results are sent to Congress, and cannot be revoked or changed.

If no single candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, then the House votes and selects the president:

The Twelfth Amendment clarifies the procedures for so-called "contingent elections"-those that are thrown into the House and Senate for lack of an Electoral College majority.
The following rules regulate the House's choice of the President:

• Only the top three vote getters in the electoral college are to be considered.
• Regardless of its population and number of representatives, each state delegation in the House has only one vote, for a total of 50 votes. The District of Columbia, which sends a nonvoting delegate to the House, has no vote.
• The state's choice is determine by a vote within its delegation. If that vote is a tie, the state loses its vote.
• A winning candidate must receive the votes of a majority-26-of states.
• There is no limit to the number of ballots in the House. If the House fails to choose a President by Inauguration Day, January 20, the Twentieth Amendment requires that the Vice-President-elect, provided that the Senate has chosen one, serves as President until the House makes it choice. The Senate follows these rules in its selection of the Vice-President:
• The choice is between the top two vice-presidential vote-getters in the Electoral College.
• Each senator has one vote, for a total of 100 votes (no vote for the District of Columbia).
• A Vice-President must be elected by a majority-51-of the whole Senate.

If the Senate also fails to elect a Vice-President, the Succession Act of 1948 provides that the Speaker of the House shall act as President until a President is chosen. The law was enacted under authority given to the Congress by the Twentieth Amendment.
Although the procedures for the way the House and Senate vote are set by the Constitution, there are no rules governing how individual members of Congress vote in such contingent elections in the House and Senate. Members are free to vote as they please within their state's delegation. It is conceivable, under these circumstances that the House might select a President of one party and the Senate, a Vice-President of the other.

[TFOGGER]

[Aloha_Shooter]

As spqrzilla says, the Constitution has an answer for this. However, past experience tells me the Dems will ignore the Constitution and claim whatever they want; the mainstream media will play lapdog to the Dems and repeat all their arguments and call anyone who doesn't support the Dems a "kook". At the end of the day, non-Dems, wanting to just be decent law-abiding people and not wanting to be called kooks, will settle for whatever the Dems want just to settle the matter so they can get back to their Kardashian-all-the-time "news" and Facebook.

[GilpinGuy]

I'm certainly not panicking. I firmly believe we are hosed either way.

As spqrzilla says, the Constitution has an answer for this. However, past experience tells me the Dems will ignore the Constitution and claim whatever they want; the mainstream media will play lapdog to the Dems and repeat all their arguments and call anyone who doesn't support the Dems a "kook". At the end of the day, non-Dems, wanting to just be decent law-abiding people and not wanting to be called kooks, will settle for whatever the Dems want just to settle the matter so they can get back to their Kardashian-all-the-time "news" and Facebook.

I do see something like this happening if it's real close and Trump wins.