6 ms·

Even if the election were delayed or cancelled, he was still elected to a 4 year term. The term doesn't extend indefinitely just because there wasn't an electio

Even if the election were delayed or cancelled, he was still elected to a 4 year term. The term doesn't extend indefinitely just because there wasn't an election. Directly from the Constitution, "The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January". It's actually very specific about when the term ends.

mcphage 6y ago
> It's actually very specific about when the term ends. And then what?
- koheripbal 6y ago
  Let's be realistic - the election happens regardless of what the President wants. For obvious reasons, he does not control the election. ...but for the sake of argument, if a comet hit the Earth and cancelled the election, then the terms of both the President and the Vice President would end, and the Leader of the Senate would become the President.
  - mcphage 6y ago
    Hmm, if it's just by the order of succession, I thought that the Speaker of the House was 3rd?
    - psadauskas 6y ago
      The Speaker of the House's term expires every two years, as well, so we wouldn't have one of those, either.
      - mcphage 6y ago
        Ah, right. Thanks :-)
      - Simulacra 6y ago
        The Speaker has no term, but the Representative does.
      - dllthomas 6y ago
        The Speaker for the House doesn't need to be a member of Congress (though always has been). It's not clear to me that we would not have a Speaker.
    - Simulacra 6y ago
      President, VP, Speaker, President of the Senate.
- castratikron 6y ago
  Not sure why you're being downvoted, it's an interesting thought experiment. Here's a video talking about what might happen. Basically, if there were no election, all that would be left is 2/3 of the Senate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQLbNekBU1A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQLbNekBU1A
- bryanlarsen 6y ago
  The supreme court decision after the Florida hanging chads debacle established that timeliness is more important than accuracy. So that's one possible playbook: dispute certain results (aka mail in ballots) and use the timeliness argument to get a decision without counting the disputed results.
- Simulacra 6y ago
  Likely the vacancy clause would kick in and the Speaker of the House becomes President. The office won't be left empty.
  - dllthomas 6y ago
    On the one hand, Congress is out of office on January 3rd. On the other, technically the Speaker of the House doesn't need to be a member of Congress, so would presumably continue to hold the title?

mcphage 6y ago

> It's actually very specific about when the term ends. And then what?

koheripbal 6y ago
Let's be realistic - the election happens regardless of what the President wants. For obvious reasons, he does not control the election. ...but for the sake of argument, if a comet hit the Earth and cancelled the election, then the terms of both the President and the Vice President would end, and the Leader of the Senate would become the President.
- mcphage 6y ago
  Hmm, if it's just by the order of succession, I thought that the Speaker of the House was 3rd?
  - psadauskas 6y ago
    The Speaker of the House's term expires every two years, as well, so we wouldn't have one of those, either.
    - mcphage 6y ago
      Ah, right. Thanks :-)
    - Simulacra 6y ago
      The Speaker has no term, but the Representative does.
    - dllthomas 6y ago
      The Speaker for the House doesn't need to be a member of Congress (though always has been). It's not clear to me that we would not have a Speaker.
  - Simulacra 6y ago
    President, VP, Speaker, President of the Senate.
castratikron 6y ago
Not sure why you're being downvoted, it's an interesting thought experiment. Here's a video talking about what might happen. Basically, if there were no election, all that would be left is 2/3 of the Senate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQLbNekBU1A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQLbNekBU1A
bryanlarsen 6y ago
The supreme court decision after the Florida hanging chads debacle established that timeliness is more important than accuracy. So that's one possible playbook: dispute certain results (aka mail in ballots) and use the timeliness argument to get a decision without counting the disputed results.
Simulacra 6y ago
Likely the vacancy clause would kick in and the Speaker of the House becomes President. The office won't be left empty.
- dllthomas 6y ago
  On the one hand, Congress is out of office on January 3rd. On the other, technically the Speaker of the House doesn't need to be a member of Congress, so would presumably continue to hold the title?