Do I See a Coup on the Horizon? – The Invisible Woman

2020 compares to 1968 as among the most tumultuous in American history. True, in ’68 there was no pandemic, yet that year witnessed the greatest loss of American lives in the Vietnam War. Like today, millions demonstrated and marched in the streets in ’68 as they’ve been marching in 2020 since the murder of George Floyd. In ’68, a wave of civil disturbances disrupted cities across the nation following the assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. The 2020 Democratic National Convention was violence-free, unlike the 1968 Democratic National Convention, but the 2020 vote count, unlike the 1968 vote count, was not violence-free. This week, we’re seeing security forces brought in to protect vote counters.

To be sure, both 1968 and 2020 were turbulent years. But the similarities pale when one considers how 1968 ended and how 2020 could end.

To provide a more meaningful explanation, let me share an excerpt of a recent Ted Talk delivered by former Obama Administration official and CNN political commentator Van Jones.

Jones immediately grabbed my attention when he said, “A presidential candidate can lose the popular vote, fail to get a majority in the Electoral College, refuse to concede, manipulate hidden mechanisms in our government and still get sworn in as the president of the United States.”

I thought to myself, “What kind of madness is this?” We know that Trump isn’t the only president to lose the popular vote yet still win the election. That has happened at least five other times, but I had no idea it was possible to lose both the popular and the electoral vote and still get sworn in. I had to hear more.

Jones went on to explain that one of the main safeguards of US democracy is the tradition of conceding. It’s not a law, not enshrined in the Constitution. It is a simple courtesy that began when William Jennings Bryan sent a telegram conceding to his opponent, William McKinley, two days after the election in 1896. But, according to Jones, this voluntary gesture is one of the main reasons that we almost never have riots or bloodshed after a US election.

Since 1896, the concession speech is the tradition that marks the beginning of the peaceful transition of power that concludes on Inauguration Day. In the days and weeks following the concession speech, a series of Constitutionally required events provide several opportunities for a recalcitrant refuser to concede rather than wreck havoc.

Jones posits, what could happen if instead of conceding, a losing candidate launches an attempt to hold onto power and stay in office anyway, using the courts as well as state houses, the Electoral College, even Congress.

Here is the picture he paints:

Obviously, this is a hypothetical – for now. But we all know that as soon as #45 is no longer in office, he’s got a date with a sista in New York. New York’s Attorney General, the Honorable Leticia James and others have been patiently waiting. It doesn’t take much imagination to see that #45 is highly incentivized to remain in office – legitimately or otherwise.

So, what can we do? Understanding what goes on behind the scenes after the general election is a good first step. Below you’ll find a timeline of those events and just below the timeline is a list of organizations that are taking action. Your engagement with these organizations could be just what we need to thwart a coup, should it.

A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline

December 8, 2020 – The Safe Harbor Deadline. Each state has until midnight on the 8th to resolve any count disputes in order to be able to finalize the count and certify the election results. If a state’s internal election results are still in dispute when midnight arrives on Dec 8th, the Federal Safe Harbor Clause kicks in. Congress then has the authority to intervene and resolve the dispute. (Note: In the 2000 presidential election, this date fell on Dec 12th which is the date the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in Bush v. Gore giving the presidency to George W. Bush just before Dec 12th deadline).

December 14, 2020 – The Electoral College Election. Members of the Electoral College are slated to meet in each of their respective state capitals and the District of Columbia to elect the president. The electors traditionally elect the candidate elected by the citizens of their respective states and the District of Columbia in the general election. However, there are electors, known as “faithless electors” who buck the system and disregard the decision made in the general election. The electors count the results, prepare and sign six certificates. This occurs on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December of the presidential election.

December 23, 2020 – The certificates must be delivered as follows: (1) one certificate to the President of the U.S. Senate (the Vice President); (2) two certificates to the secretary of state (or equivalent officer) of the state in which the electors met; (3) two certificates to the archivist; and (4) one certificate to the judge of the U.S. district court of the district in which the electors met.

January 6, 2021 – Joint Session of Congress to Count Electoral votes and Declare election Results. Both houses of Congress meet in a joint session to count the results submitted by the Electoral College, the Vice President presides as President of the Senate. The Vice President opens the certificates and presents them to tellers who then read the list. At this point, members may object which would then require that a senator and a congressperson sign a written dispute. The joint session recesses and the two houses separate and debate.

January 20, 2021 – The presidential inauguration. This date was established in the 20th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution beginning in 1937.

For over 200 years, this series of events were merely a formality, mostly unknown to the general public. Not until 2020 has it been particularly important to understand what goes on behind the scenes.

Clearly, voting is not enough. It never was. If we want to have a democracy, we’ve got to engage. You could join and support with your money and your volunteerism existing organizations like the

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

ACLU

NAACP

Legal Defense Fund

Indivisible

ColorOfChange.org

Protect the Results

and others.

These groups are going to be fighting in the courts, fighting in Congress, to try to make sure that we have a fair outcome. They could use your help and your donations.

I’ve read that 1968 was a helluva year – I was around but I was a child, unconcerned with the problems of the adult world. Too bad I can’t say the same for 2020.