A court battle? The “nightmare scenario” that was feared in the US and that is becoming more and more real



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On the Democratic side Joe biden he insists that “to the last vote” be counted before a winner is proclaimed. At dawn, he said that he is confident that the vote will make him the next president of the United States.

“This is the path to a protracted court battle that ends with supporters of the losing side feeling angry and cheated,” he explains. Anthony Zurcher, BBC correspondent in the United States.

That is why he explains that the “nightmare scenario” that was feared is taking shape.

This graphic summarizes what the increasingly possible judicial scenario would look like for which both campaigns have been preparing teams of lawyers for months.

Chart of who could be involved if the results are contested

Winner?

In recent weeks, Donald Trump did not hesitate to say that he would denounce the Democrats for committing electoral cheating to steal the victory.

“It is a huge fraud against our nation,” was what he said at the end of election day without presenting evidence and questioning the legitimacy of the ballots that were not counted on election night.

Another of the existing fears, which was confirmed hours after the closing of the voting precincts, is that he was declared the winner prematurely.

“We were preparing to win this election. Frankly, we won this election“, he affirmed even though there are still millions of votes to be counted.

Key dates

“Outrageous, unprecedented, wrong”

Biden

From the Democratic side, and also some Republican leaders, they responded quickly to the president’s announcements.

Jen O’Malley Dillon of the Biden campaign said that what Trump said is “outrageous, without precedents and wrong. “

“It is an open attempt to take away democratic rights from citizens,” he said.

He added that never before has a US president “tried to strip Americans of their voice in a national election.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from the Democratic Party and who was re-elected to her congressional seat, also condemned Trump’s claim, calling it “illegitimate, dangerous and authoritarian.”

“Count the votes. Respect the results,” he posted on his Twitter account.

Meanwhile, former Pennsylvania Republican Senator Rick Santorum has raised concerns.

He noted that he was “very distressed” by Trump’s comments. “Use the word fraud I think it’s wrong, “he said.

And Ben Shapiro, a conservative but critical analyst of the Republican president, said the president’s comments are “deeply irresponsible.”

In fact, after Trump spoke, Vice President Mike Pence tried to tone down his comments, declining to declare victory and calling for the count to take place.

“The damage is done”

Vote counting

The damage has already been done, argues BBC journalist Anthony Zurcher.

“Whether Trump ultimately wins or loses, it tarnished this election as questionOh the machinery of American democracy, “he says.

Zurcher indicates that American voters did not express rejection of Trump in any significant way at the polls, but neither did they endorse him. resounding that the president expected.

“So the battle lines are drawn and the political war will continue no matter who wins in this particular election,” he concludes.

White House with posters against Trump

In the courts and in the streets

One element to keep in mind is that any legal challenge must first go through state courts before reaching the Supreme Court, where there is a majority of conservative justices: three of the nine were nominated by Trump.

This means that if the president follows through on his words, the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election may take longer than previously thought.

Meanwhile, there are fears that the uncertainty and denial of results could lead to riots in the form of protests and clashes.

For this reason, before voting day, different businesses and buildings chose to protect their facilities with wooden sheets against possible disturbances.

At the moment no incidents have been reported, but the tension with the passing days may increase.



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