Tight U.S. presidential race may end in court battles
The presidential elections in the USA are scheduled for November 5th, but this doesn't guarantee that the results will be known swiftly. Canadians, alongside the rest of the world, may find out the winner much later. Furthermore, the battle over the results could shift to the courts, experts suggest.
Many Americans are concerned about the prospect of such a tight race for the White House. They want to avoid a repeat of previous years when conspiracy theories emerged alleging unfair voting practices. The longer the vote counting continues, the greater the likelihood that the entire process will face scrutiny.
American media, political analysts, and politicians are already bracing for the possibility that Donald Trump and his supporters might mount extensive challenges to the election outcome if the result is delayed or unfavourable to him, as they did in 2020.
Many signs suggest that the contest for the office of President of the United States could persist well after election day.
Unprecedented change of candidate
Experts highlight that if Kamala Harris wins, Donald Trump's team might inundate the courts with claims arguing that Harris was ineligible as a candidate.
There are already claims that Donald Trump and his team will contest Kamala Harris's nomination as the Democratic Party candidate. As we recall, Joe Biden withdrew after the delegate-level elections and before the Democratic convention in Chicago. The situation is unprecedented because Kamala Harris is the first in 200 years to be a presidential candidate of the United States who did not win the primaries - explains Prof. Łukasz Korporowicz from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Łódź.
In his view, there is an apparent legal ambiguity here. No clear regulations are dictating whether this is permissible.
Exceptionally close race
Przemysław Piotr Damski from the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the University of Łódź points out that ironically, the Republican buzz about Joe Biden's alleged resignation has played to the Democrats' advantage.
- They constantly stayed in the media spotlight. Discussions about the Democratic candidate were ongoing, and pressure for a change was significant. When that change happened, the campaign experienced a surge of optimism and vitality. Harris brought new energy to the campaign. The echoes of Barack Obama's earlier election campaign are evident here, and the introduction of the former president to support Kamala Harris only bolstered her standing among those who recall Obama's positive message—the renowned "Yes, we can"—emphasized Dr. Damski.
He notes that—as the polls suggest—the elections are so closely contested that it's impossible to predict the outcome and responsibly name a favourite or even a campaign leader.
- In the polls, one candidate leads at one moment, followed by the other, but these results fall within the statistical margin of error. In the American legal framework, asserting that a presidential candidate holds a 1 percentage point lead in the polls is misleading - emphasizes the expert.
