Do you think the election should be delayed?

[Democratopia]

At least for the counties worst hit by the storm?

If you have a house that has been flooded or destroyed, or your car has been wrecked, or you aren't going to pick up a pay check because your place of work is damaged, you probably aren't going to prioritize voting. Really, if you are picking up the pieces of your life, voting might not be what you are thinking about. You may have lost means to identify yourself.

If transport systems are not fully functioning, you may have a problem voting. If your designated polling location is hit by flooding or power loss, it might not be ready in seven days.

Should the election be delayed?

[scheming daemons]

1. it won't be

In a week... all the areas will be able to vote.

[TroyD]

2. Well, we can't predict the future in terms of whether they will be

But I think the main question is who has the authority to delay an election? What are the constitutional provisions for that? I don't think it's happened in modern history.

We need to get the legal experts to tell us.

[WI_DEM]

26. It hasn't happened. Some wanted to delay the election of 1864 during the

Civil War but Lincoln overruled them. We can't control Mother Nature. The election will be held regardless.

[RoccoR5955]

3. I don't know about NYC and NJ

They were hit quite hard. The subway in NYC will be out for weeks if it got as much salt water as I think it did. LIRR and Metro North also got flooded badly.
I don't think that in a week there will be enough normality to vote in those areas.
They need to test and deploy voting machines, and hopefully, where they stored them isn't flooded.
This is a mess. The worst mess there that I have seen in my lifetime.

[brooklynite]

6. NYC voting means walking three blocks away

[GETTINGTIRED]

4. No

[ashling]

5. Either way we will win

and they will whine

[RevStPatrick]

7. No.

Stop it.

[Armstead]

8. Should be, at least for a few days...But probably won't be

[bowens43]

9. No, of course not.

[DCBob]

10. No way.

Things will normalize by next week.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. Hell no

[politicaljunkie41910]

12. The states primarily affected are Democratic strongholds anyway, so it's not like Repubs in those

states will be able to get to the polls and Dems won't in substantial numbers which could inflluence the outcome.

[Democat]

13. No

Elections take place around the world in worse circumstances than this.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. You Can't Have Different States Voting At The Same Time For Obvious Reasons

I'm sure you can figure out what those reasons are.

[LisaL]

24. We already do that with early voting.

Some states have early voting, and some don't.
Somehow that doesn't represent a problem.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

29. Let's Say Forty Nine States Have Voted And All The Results Are In, Not Just Early Votes,

And neither candidate has 270 Electoral College Votes. The fiftieth state that can tip the election gets an extra week to make up their mind.

You don't see the havoc that would create.

[LisaL]

30. I can see the potential for havoc.

But if there is a state of emergency in that state, what is the alternative?
If they are out of power and not ready to vote-then that state should postpone election.

[obamanut2012]

15. No, and it can't be anyway

Which is a good thing.

[helpisontheway]

16. No. I do not want to give Romney time to gain ground. I want this election over! nt

[66 dmhlt]

17. N*O!!!

[zebe83]

18. No

[thevoiceofreason]

19. Article II, Clause 4 of the Constitution

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.

Congress has currently set the first Tuesday in November (not including the first of November). So, it would require an Act of Congress since all states MUST vote on the same day.

[LisaL]

22. Not entirely true.

"Federal law requires presidential elections to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, but it also provides that if a state "has failed to make a choice on the day prescribed by law, the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such a manner as the legislature of such State may direct.""

http://www.nj.com/us-politics/index.ssf/2012/10/could_hurricane_sandy_delay_th.html

[obamanut2012]

35. That means the elctoral college votes, not voters

People would not be allowed to vote, and that does not refer to allowing a delay.

[LisaL]

37. Legislature of that state presumably could direct they vote later than on Nov 6.

[FBaggins]

47. Sorry... no.

They can craft an alternative process for casting their electoral votes (though it could face an equal protection challenge), and that process could concievably include a public vote (though it would have to occur pretty quickly)...

... but you forget that there are LOTS of other races involved, and they have to occur under existing federal rules.

[treestar]

33. Congress would look pretty crappy for refusing to relieve

voters in such a situation. True this R Congress has no shame. But that would be pretty big in the news.

[obamanut2012]

36. They would look partisan, period

[rock]

20. No

[RomneyLies]

21. HELL to the NO!

[modrepub]

23. No

tired of commercials

[WI_DEM]

25. No. Was it delayed during the Civil War or WWII. These things happen

Was it delayed in 1932 during the depression when millions of people were homeless?

[LisaL]

27. If by these things you mean hurricanes in the end of october? I don't think so.

[FBaggins]

48. Exactly correct.

Every possible effort must be made facilitate voting. They can't delay repairing electricity in just one party's precincts for instance...

... but we don't reschedule national elections.

[LisaL]

28. My opinion:

If individual states are not ready, the individual states should postpone election.
The states have to pick electors by Dec 11. Which is plenty of time even if election is postponed in an individual state until they get power back.

[obamanut2012]

39. You cannot do that -- it gives an unfair advantage to one state

And one candidate. ALL states would have to change their election day, because everyone must vote on the same day. The December date you keep referring to defines electoral votes. What would happen is MORE voters are disenfranchised, and it will regress to what it used to be: state legs would name who the electoral voters are.

It would set a horrible precedent.

[treestar]

31. If qualified under Board of Election Rules and state and local laws

why do people assume this is not provided for? No one ever thought of it becoming a problem before this?

[LisaL]

32. It's unprecendented.

A "legal black hole."

[reflection]

34. No.

There is no precedent I'm aware of, and the freakazoids would accuse Obama of appointing himself king or some nonsense.

Plus, I think we're slightly ahead, and I like the idea of running out the clock the last 7 days with Obama performing serious Presidential duties, while Romney goes on his magical bus tour to deliver Grey Poupon to flooded-out people.

[LisaL]

38. So how is a state going to vote if it has no power?

What if election was today? Obviously we have a bunch of states under emergency.
Are they supposed to swim to their polling places?

[obamanut2012]

41. The election isn't today, it's next Tuesday

And, people voted before electricity.

Delaying an election for any reason is very scary and a bad precedent.

[reflection]

44. If a state has no power, and no backup paper plan,

then I suppose precedent would have to be set, and the election delayed. But I would expect everyone involved in such an ill-prepared farce to be run out of town on a rail when the election was over, no matter what side of the fence they fall on.

But yes, I concede the point that if there truly is NO WAY to vote, then the election should be delayed in those areas.

I just hate to give the Republicans extra time to tinker with the machines while we wait late voters to get their game plan in effect.

[davidn3600]

45. The electors would be chosen by the legislature if no election is possible

Remember that presidential elections in this nation are indirect. We do not vote for the President, the states do. Article II, Section I of the constitution says that the electors are chosen by how the legislature directs....not by how the people vote. It is the state law that says your vote is tied to the state's electoral votes.

If you have a natural disaster big enough that an election would not be possible, and there is no way for it to happen before mid-December, the legislature would select the electors by legislative fiat. Otherwise their EVs would not be counted in the electoral college.

Florida threatened to do this in 2000.

[budkin]

40. No but I'm worried about turnout

[bushisanidiot]

42. Absolutely not. The only reason to delay is if there are curfews due to

terrorist attacks on our shores and/or all out war in the U.S.

[RichGirl]

43. Everybody should....

Work as an election officer for at least one election. You get paid pretty well for election day and they even pay you to take classes.

Everybody needs to see how it all works. How dedicated the registrars office is to make sure (primary number #1 objective) THAT ANYONE WHO IS QUALIFIED TO VOTE WILL BE ABLE TO VOTE.

For example, in EVERY PRECINCT there is always a threat that there might be a power failure. So, every election they come equipped with paper ballots for as many people who are in the poll book. One person is assigned to take the voting machine (which is basically like a laptop) outside if a handicap or older person can't come inside. I once took machine out to a guy, so old and senile he was looking for Nixon on the machine....serious.

We have EARLY VOTING. My guess, if the situation is so bad that some can't vote on election day...they'll have LATE VOTING.

Oh...they always have a box of paper hospital gowns. I'll let you guess what those are for.

[Jennicut]

46. No, CL&P here in CT said they should be able to take care of most people

in the next few days. Some people will be without power for a week but they will be able to drive after the trees and power lines are moved. It does not take that long on the east coast. Smaller areas take less time to clean up.
Our SOS says they will do paper ballots if needed.