Is it November, Yet?

It is Friday and I cannot believe what transpired yesterday while I was enjoying a day of golf and the beach. 

In yet another display of constitutional ignorance, its appears that the president is unaware of who sets the date for elections. 

Article II, Section 1, Clause 4:

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

Now it is possible that he could recommend to the congress to change the date for this election, but the president, of his own accord, does not have the authority to change the date of the election. I would have though he would have had someone check that small, but important fact before he made such a sweeping statement. I also find it interesting that he pushed this hot button issue in an obvious attempt to reorient the news media away from remembering the accomplishments of Congressman John Lewis. 

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???

8:46 AM · Jul 30, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

If he had stated that he was going to ask the Congress to delay the election, that would have been the proper thing to do.

Whether mail-in voting leads to fraudulent elections is a topic of discussion that has largely been disproven.

But, the BBC has an interesting take on yesterday's developments:

Mr Trump appears to be doing everything in his power to undermine the credibility of November's vote, in which a record number of Americans are predicted to rely on mail-in voting to avoid the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. He's repeatedly made false and misleading claims about the reliability of the mail balloting and suggested broad conspiracy theories. Critics warn that he could be laying the groundwork for contesting the results - although the purpose may be simply to give him a scapegoat if he loses.

The BBC article concludes:

Critics of postal voting argue that people could vote more than once via absentee ballots and in person. Mr Trump has in the past said there was a risk of "thousands and thousands of people sitting in somebody's living room, signing ballots all over the place".

However, there is no evidence of widespread fraud, according to numerous nationwide and state-level studies over the years.

I suggest watching a Lincoln Project video called Wake Up. 

Final thoughts. How can it be OK to send kids to school but too dangerous to hold the election? And I thought coronavirus was a democratic hoax?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD