From 9/20:
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This nightmare scenario continues as lawsuits are filed by both parties over which votes should or should not be counted. But as the late-counted ballots begin to turn the three key Rust Belt states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in Biden’s favor, Trump can be expected to declare the whole vote-counting process illegitimate.
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Since Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ― as well as North Carolina ― have divided government with Democratic governors and GOP-controlled legislatures, Trump calls on Republicans in those legislatures to stop votes from being counted and to certify him the winner of their electoral votes ahead of the scheduled Electoral College vote on Dec. 14. They bend to his request, citing Article II of the Constitution and early examples in U.S. history of state legislatures certifying electors to justify their action, and announce that they view the “blue shift” as evidence of fraud ― even if there has been nothing fraudulent about it.
Meanwhile, the state courts and Democratic governors of these states certify the final vote total for Biden and his electors, declaring that the approval of Trump electors by the GOP-controlled legislatures is unconstitutional. Two sets of electors ― one for Trump, the other for Biden ― are sent to Congress.
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a divided Congress were to go down this path, two potential scenarios could result ― each with potential for chaos.
In the case where Congress nullifies the electors of a given state or multiple states, neither Trump nor Biden may meet the necessary threshold of 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. This would throw the election to the House of Representatives, where each state delegation would vote for the president.
The candidate who wins the most state delegation votes would become president. As of now, Republicans have a majority in 26 state delegations, Democrats control 22 and two ― Michigan and Pennsylvania ― are evenly divided. That would, most likely, hand the election to Trump, though the outcome of this year’s House races could change the math.
Alternately, a Democratic-controlled House could pull out of the electoral vote count after rejecting any effort by a Republican-controlled Senate to nullify a state’s electors or appoint electors for Trump. House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could declare that the chamber will only accept the electors certified by governors, based on a full vote that includes late-arriving absentee ballots.
If the Senate refuses to agree, Pelosi could then say that since Congress has not approved a White House winner, that kickstarts the 20th Amendment that details what happens when there is no president-elect. Pelosi ranks as next in line after Trump and Pence, and she could say that she would serve as acting president starting on Jan. 20, when the first term for the GOP duo expires.
All of this could be adjudicated by the Supreme Court ― which could soon hold a 6-3 conservative majority if Republicans appoint a new Trump nominee before the inauguration of a president. If not, though, it would create an existential crisis.