Well here we are 2 weeks and 1 day until the 2020 election. Early voting has already begun. Mail in ballots are in the hands of the voters with some already being sent in. It is reported that millions of votes have already been cast.

November the Third will come and go with no declared winner. All we will know on the Fourth is who is currently in the lead. As the days pass, we will be told how much the lead has grown, shrunk, or if it changed hands. This election will make the 2000 election look like a walk in the park.

The only way the election will be settled on the Third is if there is such a blowout there can be no reason for the loser not to concede. Neither will concede if the election is close. Even if and or when one of the candidates concede near half of the population (I did not say voters) will be “unhappy” with the concession. As to the level of “unhappiness”, it will depend on who loses.

There has been much talk and speculation on what will happen on the Fourth. Not much if anything will happen on the Fourth. However, as the days drag on the level of “anxiety” will grow.

Thanks to the Wuhan novel corona virus many States are doing mail in ballots. It has been reported that more mail in ballots will be cast than in person voting. This is in part to the MSM and so-called experts scaring the crap out of the voters.

Most of the “worry” around this election is for President. Must I remind you that there is more than the Presidency involved in this election. There are some Senate seats on the ballot as well as all the House seats. There may be Governors on some ballots as well as other Statewide offices. There may be Local government elections (Mayors, Commissioners, School Board, and the like) along with County based initiatives. Here in Florida we have some Constitutional amendments to consider and vote on. It is going to take some time for all those mail in ballots to be checked. Some may be thrown out for voter errors. When I say thrown out, I do not mean discarded I mean set aside in case this election like the 2000 election winds up in court with some lawyers arguing over voter intent. It is going to take just as long to find out who won the School Board seat as it will to find out who is President. More on these mail in ballots in a moment.

The stage is set for this coming election to be the most contested election in history. Contested at all levels. It is even possible that we may never know the actual results of this election. It could be so botched that plan B comes into play at the Federal level.

There has been some speculation that this election for President could wind up being settled by Congress. This opens a can of worms. If my recollection is correct the last time Congress elected a President was in 1974. Stick with me for just a minute, I will make this brief. Gerald Ford became Vice President when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned as Vice President in 1973. He became Vice President by a vote in Congress (House and Senate). Along came Watergate and President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974. Vice President Ford became President Ford. He became President without the Electoral College. Nelson Rockefeller became Vice President, elected by Congress. So there you have it we had a President and Vice President in office who had never received the first Electoral College vote, both in office courtesy of Congress. A series of events or an accident?

It happened then it could happen now. However, now there is a proverbial fly in the ointment.

As I said above I believe this is going to be a hotly contested election at all levels.

Now would be the time to revisit the discarded (set aside) mail in ballots. Some ballots may be thrown out because the signature does not match. Some may be thrown out because they were filled out incorrectly, failure to follow the instructions on how to properly fill out the ballot, the instructions are plainly printed on the ballot. Some may just get “lost” in transit. Some may be post marked to late. Basically for any number of reasons. This is the reason the lawyers will be on call.

Quick question. If a ballot, any ballot, is in question, is the whole ballot in question or just certain portions of the ballot? To my way of thinking if any one part of the ballot is in question, the whole ballot is in question and none of it should be counted until the ordeal is settled.

Let me throw this at you to give you some thought. The new term for congress begins at Noon on January Third. Just suppose the election for Congress (House and Senate) is not settled by then. It is going to take just as long to count the ballots for Congress as it will take to count the ballots for President. Incumbents who lose will surely contest the results as will the challenger if the election is close. There will be millions of mail in ballots and possibly hundreds of thousands that have been thrown out (set aside). In this case it could be quite some time before it is decided who controls which Chamber. It would even be possible that there would not be enough of either Chamber to constitute a quorum for the purpose of electing a President or Vice President. The word Quorum appears in the Twelfth Amendment but not in the Twentieth Amendment. So, when would Congress act if it becomes apparent that we the people could not, or did not decide? How many would be required in each Chamber? It would have to be before the Third. The current term of this Congress ends at noon on the Third of January including all House members and all Class 2 Senators (twelve democrats and twenty one republicans) as well as two Class Three Senators in a Special Election (both republicans). The term of the current President ends at Noon on the 20th of January.

Not long ago the current Speaker of the House did say that if the right of choice should devolve to them, they would act.

Like I said earlier this will drag on unless there is an absolute blowout on the Third for one or the other of the candidates. But even then, there will be charges of voter fraud, voter suppression, voter intimidation and the like by the loser. Neither will concede on the Third even with a blowout. As a bonus the other candidates of the other parties for President will most likely not concede either.

Go back for a minute to the 2000 election in Florida. Look at how long it took to finally declare a winner in that election in just one State. Now multiply that by as many as Fifty. This could drag out for Months in the Courts. Then add in the peculiarities in some States where the winner must get more than Fifty percent of the vote or face a runoff election.

The clock could run out and the Constitution kick in. Imagine the irony of the Country being done in or undone by the very Constitution held in such reverence by conservatives and such disdain by liberal progressives. A series of events, by accident or accidently on purpose?

No matter the outcome of this election for President the losing side will view the President as Illegitimate and everything he does will be viewed the same. President George W. Bush faced that in 2000 and President Donald Trump has faced that since his election in 2016.

I will close with this. If you have already voted good for you. If you did a mail in ballot and have already sent it in, I do hope and pray that you double checked to make sure your ballot was filled in correctly. If you plan to vote by mail in ballot, please take time and make sure you follow the instructions. Do all you can to avoid the lawyers analyzing your ballot. If you did the absentee ballot (as originally intended) good for you, make sure it is done correctly. If you plan to vote in person as I do on election day enjoy the day do not get mad about waiting in line you have probably waited in line for much more meaningless events without complaint. Lastly, I do not care who you vote for I only care that you voted. When this is over, and the dust has settled, we as a Nation will deal with the aftermath of whatever comes along.