Millions of votes are still being counted, with Presidential candidate Joe Biden leading with 264 electoral votes today on 6th November 2020. The election of the President and Vice President of the United States of America is an indirect election, wherein the citizens cast their ballots for the members of the Electoral College. Then, these electors cast their votes for the office of the President and Vice President. The candidate with an absolute majority of 270 electoral votes, wins the election and is elected to the office of the President of the United States of America.
As both candidates are running neck to neck, President Donald Trump has expressed his willingness to take the 2020 elections to the Supreme Court, which has resulted in a lot of controversies and questions.
The main question looming in everyone’s minds: If, how, and when can the Supreme Court of the United States intervene in the electoral procedure.
The Novel Coronavirus has adversely impacted every aspect of life, including the US Presidential Elections. Voters are allowed to cast their vote now, through mail-in ballots. The delay in receiving and counting these mail-in ballots has impacted the outcome of the election. Donald Trump has called this ‘a major fraud on our nation’ and his legal team is now attempting to hinder the mail-in ballots from being counted.
The current situation has left people expecting a reprise of Bush v. Gore, where the election was decided by the Supreme Court.
It should be noted that this matter cannot be taken to the Supreme Court directly. The matter at hand needs to be brought in front of a federal district or state court. It can only be brought to the Supreme Court by way of appeal.
The Judiciary Act of 1789, established the Judicial Courts of the United States. Article III of the Constitution of the United States, establishes the Supreme Court.
Section I of the Article reads, “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”
Section II of the Article deals with the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The court has original jurisdiction over certain matters such as disputes between two or more states, issues involving ambassadors and public ministers. This court also has appellate jurisdiction over almost any case involving a point of law.
Previously in 2000, the Supreme Court in, Bush v. Gore, made the final decision in the post-election battle between George.W. Bush and Al Gore. Here the conflict was about which candidate should be awarded Electoral votes of the State of Florida, which was a deciding factor.
As of now, Trump’s team had filed lawsuits concerning voting deadlines and ballot counting, and most of these suits have been dismissed due to the lack of merit. The Supreme Court has the power of discretion over the cases heard before it. Although suits regarding elections in State Courts are not new and often, they are without any merit. They also have very little or no impact, with the case of Bush v. Gore is the one exception.
In the case of Bush v. Gore, the machine-generated vote count was challenged by the Democratic candidate, as a significant number of voters had issues marking their ballots. Here the Supreme Court, held there was a violation of the ‘equal protection clause’ due to the lack of uniformity. Through the decision of the court George. W. Bush was awarded the votes in Florida and went on to win the Presidential Election in 2000.
The Equal Protection Clause comes from the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, the essence of this principle is that there must be equal protection of the laws.
Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment states, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Suits filed by Trump’s team are claiming something similar, and with regard to the suit filed in Pennsylvania, there were claims made about the state’s lack of uniformity which violates the Equal Protection Clause.
There is a very high chance of these suits finding their way to the Supreme Court, but there is also a high possibility the court may decide not to take on this case. In the case of George v. Bush, the court had warned that it should not be given too much importance as a precedent because it was unique to Florida’s vote counts.
The votes of certain ‘battleground’ states which are essential for this election, are yet to be declared. The Democratic candidate already leading with 264 electoral votes may easily secure the 270 electoral vote majority needed to win. Any legal action taken against this by Donald Trump would be utterly futile. The worst possible outcome of this would be month-long legal battles and a country left with no elected President.
This Article Does Not Intend To Hurt The Sentiments Of Any Individual Community, Sect, Or Religion Etcetera. This Article Is Based Purely On The Authors Personal Views And Opinions In The Exercise Of The Fundamental Right Guaranteed Under Article 19(1)(A) And Other Related Laws Being Force In India, For The Time Being.
