What happens if people stop voting

Bush, who prevailed in the Electoral College. As the clock ticked down toward the safe harbor deadline in the weeks that followed, Gore petitioned for additional recounts in key counties where Bush had won by thin margins and voting irregularities had been documented. On December 12, , the date of the safe harbor deadline, the U.

Supreme Court halted the recounts, arguing that there was no constitutionally valid way to complete them before the safe harbor deadline. On December 13, Bush prevailed by a margin of just votes in Florida. After the election, a group of news organizations commissioned the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago to review more than , Florida ballots that had been rejected during the election. The review found that if the recounts had been allowed to continue, they would have favored Bush, but that Gore lost more than 2, votes because the recounts were halted.

In , a new factor may come into play—unprecedented numbers of mail-in ballots. The COVID pandemic has accelerated the adoption of the practice, in which people in eligible states cast their ballots as early as 45 days before the election. While the process varies from state to state, some—including some key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—forbid processing mail-in ballots prior to Election Day.

New Yorkers explain why they made the extra effort to vote early. If that happens, the time states have to resolve disputes could be even shorter, further testing the electoral system.

The very novelty of mail-in voting for many voters could be a liability in Secrecy sleeves, signature and ID requirements, and other technicalities complicate the process. While voting in person, workers can help voters properly cast their votes, but mail-in voters must cast them without assistance. According to a recent analysis by a group of political scientists from Georgia, New Hampshire and Florida, voters who have never used a mail-in ballot are up to three times more likely to have their ballots rejected.

And in a number of states , ballots cast by Black and Hispanic voters are being flagged for errors at a disproportionate rate compared to those of white voters. Despite fears that the safe harbor deadline may not give states enough time to fully count their votes, and a stalled bid by Florida senator Marco Rubio to officially extend it, states must submit their votes by December 14 or Congress will decide for them when it meets on January 6, All rights reserved.

What happens after Election Day While many U. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars. India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country.

Go Further. A nation can be both a constitutional republic and a representative democracy, and the existence of a set of underlying but amendable rules and structures by which the government bases its actions does not mean that the desires of each person cannot be addressed.

The possibility of the entire nation refusing to vote is certainly an interesting one, and would certainly send the message that no one wants a president. An issue with that situation is that our country needs a president- the system of government established in the Constitution has 3 branches that balance and counteract each other, preventing any one area of the government from becoming too powerful or dangerous. Removing one of those branches could upset the entire national government, as there are essential functions that the executive branch needs to complete for the government to work.

And we need the government to work- the justice system, foreign trade, maintenance of public goods and services, programs to support the poor and unemployed, though admittedly flawed in their own ways, cannot be fixed by immediate elimination but rather by gradual amendment. In short, we need a president, and in the extraordinarily unlikely event that the public fails in its duty of electing one, a failsafe of respected individuals who can select an appropriate leader is certainly a reasonable solution.

If the public has truly decided that the presidency is an unnecessary, excessively powerful institution, it should instead focus on electing Congressional representatives who will amend the Constitution to eliminate the position.

If the entire country is absolutely unified in this sentiment, it should not take long to be enacted. On the other hand, if the nation just wants to keep the old president, it is vital that there be a body to bring in a successor.

Peaceful, mandated transfer of power is one of the principles of free government, as it helps to block the possibility of regression into monarchy or dictatorship. And in general, the electoral college does not behave in a manner that would in any way threaten the choice of a president by the general public.

Furthermore, the electoral college holds other benefits, such as allowing the president to be selected by a majority of the country rather than small centers of population, making control of the country even more a reflection of the sentiments of the entire country rather than one concentrated group.

Even though I will not make the final choice of who if president, I will still vote. I believe that rather than being stacked in favor of one group of people, my vote will carry the same weight as every other citizen, whether it be my PSU peers or Barack Obama himself. I view the electoral college not as a threat to distorting my true wants but rather as a facilitator for selecting the president and a safety net if something should go horribly wrong in the election.

If the will of the majority was in actuality silenced by the electoral college, the US government could hardly be considered a democracy. As it stands, though, the electoral college does not limit the fair selection of a president and is only a government formality that can step in in the event of no one voting or some other catastrophe. You must be logged in to post a comment. Sites at Penn State. What Would Happen if Nobody Voted? But without strong voter turnout, the balance of power in your state could literally be decided by drawing a name out of a hat looking at you, Virginia.

This election will lead to policies and decisions that affect thousands—if not millions—of people. Still not convinced? It is still unsafe for most of the country to re-open, and mistrust around a potential vaccine continues to grow. Despite the Supreme Court upholding the Affordable Care Act in , the Trump administration continues to try to repeal the law, which would leave millions of Americans without health insurance—in the middle of a pandemic.

They have a lawsuit against it working its way through the courts right now, while the Republican party is rushing the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, who would end up ruling on the case.

Joe Biden has a different path forward. Biden plans to build a national contact-tracing force and Pandemic Testing Board to ensure free and reliable testing, coordinate a global approach to develop and distribute a safe vaccine whereas Trump has said the U. Biden has also proposed a public option for health insurance, building on the available health care coverage that the Affordable Care Act expanded.

Biden will also urge Congress to pass more coronavirus stimulus packages to help those economically impacted by the pandemic. The latest package —which passed in the House of Representatives and was set to provide millions of Americans with additional stimulus checks, new unemployment benefits, and more small-business aid—is now stalled in the Senate.

COVID has only worsened those inequities. And according to LeanIn. That means in a single year, all the gains made in the representation of women in management since the study began could be erased. Remote schooling and lack of child care have been major influences on women leaving the workforce.

Barrett is known for her consertative, anti-choice stance on reproductive rights. She has refused to answer how she would rule in cases on abortion and the Affordable Care Act during her hearings, but did say Roe v. Wade should not be considered a super-precedent.