The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
The activities leading up to the 2020 election make it a certainly that one or both of the presidential candidates will refuse to accept the election results. The shenanigans of the Postmaster General have thrown an air of illegitimacy onto valid ballot counts. Foreign governments are doing whatever they can to sway the outcome. There have been too many efforts by state legislatures to suppress voting, other people have encouraged or discouraged voting by mail, and one infamous high official has urged voters to vote twice to ensure that their votes are counted, although that is clearly a felony.
If it is declared that the president loses the election by any margin, he will reject the outcome. Even if Joe Biden wins the popular vote by at least a ten-point margin, the president will reject his loss. If it is widely concluded that either the popular or Electoral College vote is perceived to be too close to determine a winner, both presidential candidates may refuse to accept the final tally.
Because of the coronavirus, people have been urged to vote early by absentee ballot to insure that their vote will be counted. However, most state laws forbid the tabulation of ballots until Election Day, and mail-in votes take more time to count than those which are entered on voting machines in the polling places. Thus it is likely the final numbers will not be known for a few days or weeks after the election. Those will be very anxious days.
During that period, every candidate for every office, but especially the two major presidential candidates, will have more than enough time to work themselves into a frenzy. If the president is declared the loser and he thinks he won, he will refuse to leave the White House on January 20. If Joe Biden is declared the winner, he or others may demand that Trump be forcibly removed, if necessary. No one wants to contemplate either of those “ifs.”
However, if either were to occur, what would be the result? Would there be violence? Such a prospect is profoundly alarming. In the 2000 election, an uncertain outcome was decided weeks afterwards by the US Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision. Al Gore, who lost that vote but won the popular vote, graciously accepted defeat and urged his supporters also to accept it. Remarkably, Democrats acceded to the court, and the nation moved on.
Twenty years later, America will not be so fortunate. The political polarization which has widened since 2000 will certainly increase after November 3, regardless of who wins.
There is one pre-election factor which might help avert a catastrophe. Throughout this year, there has been a growing flood of tell-all books about the president by people well placed to tell all. They may persuade some Trump fans either to refrain from voting altogether or to cast their ballots for Joe Biden. That would be an incalculable blessing.
If enough people who heretofore have been Trump supporters sit out this election or if they reluctantly cast their votes for Biden, and if Biden wins by at least ten percentage points, then American democracy shall be salvaged. Otherwise it is not possible to forecast what the outcome of this fiercely contested election might be. Whatever its nature, a divisive ending is bound to damage our body politic much more than the injuries it has already suffered.
May the spirit of God within us somehow preserve the United States of America.
- September 10, 2020
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.