Biden and Trump both may refuse to concede defeat

By Stephen Lendman

Trump v. Biden results won’t be known for days or weeks post-election because of record early voting by mail or in-person.

According to the US Elections Project, early voting so far reached about 62% of total 2016 turnout as of 12.31 AM Eastern time October 31.

A total of 87.8 million Americans already voted — 30.8 million in-person, 57 million by mail, compared to 33 million of the latter in 2016.

In 12 of the 50 states, early voting exceeds 80% of total votes cast in 2016 — in Texas, Montana, Tennessee, Washington, New Mexico, Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, and Hawaii.

Mailed-in ballots must be postmarked no later than Election Day (November 3).

Only 13 states allow early counting of mail-in ballots:  Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Hawaii.

Ohio, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Utah leave it up to local officials on when to begin counting ballots.

In most states, vote counting begins on Election Day while the in-person process is ongoing or when polls close.

At that time, Trump most likely will lead Biden before most mail-in ballots are counted.

Given the record-high number that keeps growing daily, it’ll take days or longer to complete tabulations.

According to Pew Research, Trump supporters are more than twice as likely to vote in person than Biden/Harris backers.

About the same percentage holds in reverse for voters who support them over Trump.

With Trump surely ahead when polls close Tuesday, he’s most likely to declare victory — Biden/Harris and anti-DJT media to cry foul if he does what’s expected.

In response to earlier being asked if he’ll “commit to…a peaceful transferral of power after the election,” he said the following:

“(W)e’re gonna have to see what happens.”

He’s hostile to mail-in ballots, earlier calling them a “scam (amounting to) fraud.”

In ruling against his claim of possible mail-in voter fraud in New Jersey, US District Court Judge Michael Shipp rejected the argument, saying:

It’s “largely conjectural, hypothetical and lacking in imminence.”

It’s “speculative” to assume that “because there was fraud in past New Jersey elections, fraud will also occur in the November 2020 General Election.”

Voting can be fair or fraudulent by whatever methods are used to conduct elections.

Trump was wrong saying “(g)et rid of (mail-in) ballots and you’ll have a peaceful—there won’t be a transfer…There’ll be a continuation.”

A key issue with mail-in votes this time around is that numbers arriving past the established deadline won’t get counted.

Key also is how many may be returned to sender for whatever reasons and won’t be included in the final count.

There’s always the risk of election shenanigans by any number or ways. US history is replete with them from the early days of the republic.

If occur this time, they’ll matter greatly if results are close in key battleground states — enough to swing the result either way.

Based on remarks by both sides, Trump or Biden/Harris may dispute the vote count if it doesn’t go their way.

DJT’s hostility toward mail-in ballots was explained above.

Hillary earlier urged Biden not to concede if he’s behind on election night, saying:

“Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances because I think this is going to drag out.”

“Eventually I do believe he will win if we don’t give an inch and if we are as focused and relentless as the other side is.”

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Speaker Pelosi addressed the same issue her way, saying:

“(W)hatever the end count” on November 3, “I feel very confident that Joe Biden will be elected president on Tuesday.”

“On January 20, he will be inaugurated president of the United States.”

Separately, she urged Trump to “stand up like a man and accept the results,” adding:

He’s “undermining of our elections while he allows foreign countries like his friend (Vladimir) Putin to undermine the integrity of our election (sic). He himself is doing it as well (sic).”

Battle lines are drawn between both sides pre-election that are likely to remain in place when over.

Neither side may accept results when known. The same goes for hardline supporters of both sides.

We’re in uncharted territory. Never before in US history were presidential, congressional, and some local elections held under conditions that exist today.

Will it be weeks to know whether Trump won second term or if Biden/Harris succeeds him?

Will nine Supreme Court Justices have final say, three appointed by Trump?

Voters have no say over who holds high executive branch or congressional posts nor involvement in how the nation is run.

A democracy in name only, never the real thing from inception, they get what monied interests and dark forces alone have say over.

They’ll decide whether Trump or Biden is inaugurated president in January.

Of most importance — names and faces aside — they’ll decide how the nation is run.

It happens the same way every time. It’s the American way.

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*Stephen Lendman, born in 1934 in Boston, started writing on major world and national issues began in summer 2005. In early 2007, radio hosting followed. Lendman now hosts the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network three times weekly. Distinguished guests are featured. Listen live or archived. Major world and national issues are discussed. Lendman is a 2008 Project Censored winner and 2011 Mexican Journalists Club international journalism award recipient.

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