Ballot counting observers are a key part of both campaigns’ legal strategies, including preparations to review ballot signatures and witness requirements and to force “cure” unfit ballots in states where approval is allowed. If the battlefield situation becomes a razor-thin contest, the fight could end in the courts.
The role of ballot observers, which includes trained volunteers and lawyers, is to document every detail and dispute voting if there is a potential problem. Their presence is not new, however, as election experts fear that the added observation – linked to the flow of mail-in ballots – could lead to unnecessary delays that provoke suspicion and chaos if it is the next election that survives mail-in. Is. Vote to determine the result.
And with millions of people voting for the Covid-19 epidemic by mail – many states are waiting to begin counting ballots until voting closes – the process could well lengthen on election days.
The prospect of a delayed result comes as Trump and the White House suggest that the outcome of the presidential race should be known on election night, contradicting what election officials and experts are trying to prepare the public for: the average election night is never official and the mail -The high percentage of these ballots means that the results will come more slowly, so the winner will not know for days, if not weeks.
David Baker, founder of the Election Innovation and Non-Partisan Party, said: “The more time it takes to calculate the ballot, the more uncertainty there is and the widespread dissatisfaction and anti-foreigners can use that uncertainty to further divide and undermine confidence. ” Research.
Republican National Committee Chief Counsel Justin Reimer said the process is “running smoothly” and the party is investing in a legal effort to ensure compliance with the law.
“We are not going to obstruct the process. If they want to check the signatures, they need to check the signatures. We understand that there is an urgency to count the ballots, but it needs to be done,” Reimer told CNN. “We can’t stand on one side if the authorities don’t follow the law – the unfortunate consequence of taking action is that it can slow down the process.”
Presidential Campaign Advocate Up
Both Democrats and Republicans have spent millions on both expected legal battles before and after the polls closed in November.
“We are monitoring those potential situations and are ready to respond to them as needed,” the Biden campaign official said.
“It’s fair to say that 2020 will be the party’s biggest election observation program and it was part of the president’s campaign.” “We are ready with volunteers and attorneys at these central counting locations when the voting process begins.”
Immediately after the polls close, both parties are likely to start fighting the result. Democrats are warning that the return coming on election night could be misleading, as a higher percentage of Republican voters plan to vote face-to-face, while more Democratic voters say they will vote by mail, according to CLN and others. .
That means voters can push Trump into the states at bedtime on election night, just to see results for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, as there are more mail-in ballot tablets.
It is an incident that took place in several close races during the mid-2018 election, prompting Trump to falsely question the process. He tweeted that Florida should “go with the results of Election Night” as Senate contests intensified due to mail-in votes, and suggested that Arizona hold new elections after Democrat Kirsten Cinema took the lead in the Senate race.
Biden said Monday that he is concerned that Trump will try to do the same in November. Asked if he is confident that all votes will be counted, the former vice president told reporters, “I am confident that Trump will try to prevent this from happening, but I am confident that the American people will insist.”
How long it takes for the winner of the presidential election to be declared will depend on how close the election is. In modern presidential politics, the winner is usually – but not always – called on election night. In 2004, Democratic nominee Jonan Kerry did not accept until the next day, waiting for Ohio’s results to come out in full. And in 2000, the presidential election lasted more than a month after election day, thanks to Florida’s long-running courtesy and court battle.
RNC Michael Ahrens, a spokesman for the UN, pointed to the 2000 Florida census as an example of why there shouldn’t be a long delay after the election. “I don’t think the 36 days I took in 2000 could serve anyone.”
‘You can really speed up the work’
Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – some of the major war-torn states – do not begin counting mail-in ballots until election day by law, which raises the stakes for potential delays until it is known who won.
Michigan is discussing changing its laws on the counting of mail-in ballots. A bill was passed by the state Senate on Tuesday, giving election workers an extra day to process illegal ballots; The law is still pending in the House.
Once the count begins, some states, such as Wisconsin, allow challengers to stay close to the ballot-tabulating election official so they can question whether voting is valid. Wisconsin Electoral Officer Reed Magnie said historians in the state historically had lawyers from both parties at central counting locations such as Milwaukee and Green Bay, which are also open to the public.
“People can focus on their shoulders in the campaign,” Magni said.
But it can slow things down.
Baker said, “If you have a ballot that would normally take 20-30 seconds, but it takes 1-2 minutes because someone is challenging each ballot – which lengthens it quickly and you can really move the work forward. “
With more mail-in votes coming in from Democrats, the G.O.P. Lawyers are likely to be in a position to challenge the legitimacy of the mail-in ballot. Such challenges may be due to matching signatures or missing information such as a witness’s signature, which is required in some states.
Democrats, in turn, are preparing to face those Republican challenges. They are also reading efforts to quickly “cure” ballots that are considered invalid after election day in the states, according to the National Council of State Legislators.
Election officials at central polling stations are generally well-trained, Baker said, adding that the campaign would need “some reasonable grounds” to challenge the turnout. “You are not allowed to challenge every ballot,” he said.
Magni said campaign officers and the general public are allowed to oversee the process, but they can’t go too far. He said, “If anyone interferes, they will be expelled.”
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