Who can answer this question?
I don't even know where to begin to look.
If, by some bizarre miracle, the allegations of shenanigans with the vote turn out to be true, what happens? Since Kerry conceded, he's no longer in the picture, right? Does that leave us with the spectre of Bush getting impeached? And Cheney?
It all seems too horrible to contemplate.
If, by some bizarre miracle, the allegations of shenanigans with the vote turn out to be true, what happens? Since Kerry conceded, he's no longer in the picture, right? Does that leave us with the spectre of Bush getting impeached? And Cheney?
It all seems too horrible to contemplate.
posted by Robert at
2:47 PM
3 Comments:
(JJB) Concession is a political concept, not a legal one. If somehow it was determined by the courts that Kerry had, in fact, won the election, the fact that he conceded does not change that result. Does that mean he automatically becomes president? I don't know.
There's also the weirdness about the Electors (the folks that actually vote in the Electoral College) sometimes changing their votes. I think there may have even been some effort at petitioning some Bush Electors back in 2000 to vote for Gore under the argument that he won the popular vote. And I saw on some site that Lloyd Bentsen had received one electoral vote when he ran with Dukakis. But that's a whole 'nother can of worms.
And keep in mind, as with most things, I speak from some kernal of half-remembered knowledge, but mostly out of my ass.
By
Anonymous, at 4:08 PM
(Dan):
The problem is that all votes are not counted unless some force (governor, secretary of state, court order, political uncertainty in absence of a concession) is requiring them to be and in the critical states - Florida, Ohio - none of those will be present.
Theoretically, Kerry could still win. But elections, like all politics, are not as clean, objective or self-instigating as we would like to think.
By
Anonymous, at 6:06 PM
(Dan): Now that I think about it, I recall from 2000 that once the electoral college meets and votes, the result is final, legal and binding - if the electoral college votes for Bush, even if that vote is found out later to be based on miscounted popular votes, he's President.
(Impeachment would have to be for some offense of his - not fraud at the voting booth or a mistake made by the electoral college.)
The electoral college meets on December 13, has to submit their votes to the Senate on December 22nd and then the final vote is counted by Congress on January 6th. So those people recounting had better work fast.
By
Anonymous, at 6:49 PM
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