The Terrible Inadequacy of US Election Law-Market Implications

[cherzeca]

I have been trying to get a handle on just how uncertain the POTUS electoral process this year may become due to a significant increase in mailed/absentee ballots.  My interest is not political but rather investment oriented, because I believe the market will react very badly to a confused and contentious election.

This article has certainly not assuaged my concern:  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/terrifying-inadequacy-american-election-law/616072/

forget about whether you are a R or a D, a Biden voter or a Trump voter.  it seems to me that there will be a high likelihood that i) battleground states will have trouble authenticating and counting with dispatch and accuracy a massive amount of paper ballots, 2) those battleground states that report results will have those results contested through litigtion by both parties, 3) because there is a short time window between the election date, the date states must certify results to the electoral college and the inauguration date, there is a significant possibility that no certainty will be achieved as to who POTUS is by inauguration date, and 4) most troubling, the constitutional provisions and statutes that address this situation (as set forth in The Atlantic article) appear to be woefully inadequate.  and of course, whatever you think about the 2000 election, you can't help but respect Gore for calling an end to the litigation...there will be no statesmanship from Pelosi/Trump when push comes to shove this time around.

so, isn't it time, like about now, to get conservative (pun intended) with respect to our investments? (I am).

[Gregmal]

All I will mention is that Joe Biden spent much of his career as an establishment politician, warning and screaming about voter fraud. Now he has amnesia. And is banking on it.

[LearningMachine]

All I will mention is that Joe Biden spent much of his career as an establishment politician, warning and screaming about voter fraud. Now he has amnesia. And is banking on it.

It will be great if you can share a source.

Also, I feel with the utmost power comes utmost responsibility.  When a sitting president says they don't know whether they will accept the results of the election, and says that they don't know what they will do if they lose as they are a bad loser, that undermines the legitimacy of our elections and our democracy.  Now, that democracy is at bigger risk with Ruth Bader gone. 

Let us please all agree that democracy is sacrosanct, and that we don't want to risk losing it for ourselves and our kids.   Without democracy, we have nothing as investors as there is no rule of law we can rely on for our investments.

[Gregmal]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/19/biden-spent-years-warning-of-voter-fraud-now-call-a-myth/

“Should Voters Be Allowed To Register On Election Day? No,” Biden wrote in an op-ed to a now-defunct Wilmington, Del. newspaper in 1977. He even chided President Carter for proposing it.

A “reservation I have and one that is apparently shared by some of the top officials within the Department of Justice is that the president’s proposal could lead to a serious increase in vote fraud,” Biden wrote.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Biden worked closely with now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to stiffen penalties for voter fraud.

[LearningMachine]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/19/biden-spent-years-warning-of-voter-fraud-now-call-a-myth/

“Should Voters Be Allowed To Register On Election Day? No,” Biden wrote in an op-ed to a now-defunct Wilmington, Del. newspaper in 1977. He even chided President Carter for proposing it.

A “reservation I have and one that is apparently shared by some of the top officials within the Department of Justice is that the president’s proposal could lead to a serious increase in vote fraud,” Biden wrote.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Biden worked closely with now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to stiffen penalties for voter fraud.

Thanks Gregmal.  I looked at your source.

(1) It is one thing for someone to work over the years with others on taking steps to prevent/reduce voter fraud, e.g. by supporting laws that have stiff penalties for voter fraud.

(2) It is another thing for a sitting president to say that he doesn't know whether he will honor the results of the election, and that he doesn't know what he will do do if he loses the election and that he is a bad loser.

#1 can help build the legitimacy of our elections and create a stronger democracy, while #2 delegitimizes our elections and creates a risk to our democracy.

[cubsfan]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/19/biden-spent-years-warning-of-voter-fraud-now-call-a-myth/

“Should Voters Be Allowed To Register On Election Day? No,” Biden wrote in an op-ed to a now-defunct Wilmington, Del. newspaper in 1977. He even chided President Carter for proposing it.

A “reservation I have and one that is apparently shared by some of the top officials within the Department of Justice is that the president’s proposal could lead to a serious increase in vote fraud,” Biden wrote.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Biden worked closely with now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to stiffen penalties for voter fraud.

Thanks Gregmal.  I looked at your source.

(1) It is one thing for someone to work over the years with others on taking steps to prevent/reduce voter fraud, e.g. by supporting laws that have stiff penalties for voter fraud.

(2) It is another thing for a sitting president to say that he doesn't know whether he will honor the results of the election, and that he doesn't know what he will do do if he loses the election and that he is a bad loser.

#1 can help build the legitimacy of our elections and create a stronger democracy, while #2 delegitimizes our elections and creates a risk to our democracy.

What is this nonsense about Trump not honoring the election results?

Where is your anger for Hillary Clinton advising Joe Biden to NOT CONCEDE under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES??

[Rod]

It seems reasonable to take some risk off the table given the possibilities. The few stocks I own are Canadian and all seem very cheap to me, so I’m staying fully invested. I might think differently if I owned highly priced US stocks. I think your concerns are very valid at least in the short term.

[LearningMachine]

What is this nonsense about Trump not honoring the election results?

Where is your anger for Hillary Clinton advising Joe Biden to NOT CONCEDE under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES??

I'd like to request that we model respectful behavior for each other and not let ourselves be influenced by leaders not modeling such behavior.

You can watch Fox News interview of Trump here, starting at 37:13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6XdpDOH1JA.

It is (1) one thing for a sitting president to be saying these words, and (2) another thing for someone who is not a sitting president recommending that in response.

#1 undermines our democracy and the legitimacy of our elections.

[cubsfan]

What is this nonsense about Trump not honoring the election results?

Where is your anger for Hillary Clinton advising Joe Biden to NOT CONCEDE under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES??

I'd like to request that we model respectful behavior for each other and not let ourselves be influenced by leaders not modeling such behavior.

You can watch Fox News interview of Trump here, starting at 37:13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6XdpDOH1JA.

It is (1) one thing for a sitting president to be saying these words, and (2) another thing for someone who is not a sitting president recommending that in response.

#1 undermines our democracy and the legitimacy of our elections.

Total nonsense, Hillary Clinton ran for President of the United States, she is a Democratic icon and leader.

Excusing her behavior is pathetic.

[LearningMachine]

Total nonsense, Hillary Clinton ran for President of the United States, she is a Democratic icon and leader.

Excusing her behavior is pathetic.

Using words like nonsense and pathetic distracts from the logic of the underlying argument, unless that is what you're going for.  So does trying to argue that someone else did the same thing, and trying to shift the argument to saying that someone else was in the same position as the president.

I'm not trying to justify what Hillary Clinton said.  I agree with you that saying such words undermines our democracy and the legitimacy of our elections.

When someone who is not just running for President, but is a President, says stronger words that they are a bad loser and that they don't know if they will accept the results of the election, it undermines our democracy and the legitimacy of our elections lot more, because it brings images of that person not leaving office, and introduces risk of that person turning into a dictator.

The risk amplifies when that sitting President starts using his power to do things that might make it easier to do that also.