Coronavirus conundrum: Trump suggests delaying US elections as Joe Biden leads in opinion poll
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In his tweet, the US president spoke out against universal mail-in voting.
President Donald Trump suggested that the US election should be delayed with less than 100 days left for voting day.
No presidential election has ever been postponed in the United States even during the civil war, or World War-II.
In his tweet, the US president spoke out against universal mail-in voting. America gives the option to cast votes through postal ballots. It will be widely used in America this time because of the Wuhan virus.
America is the worst hit country in the world and may not flatten the curve anytime soon. Postal votes will enable social distancing but Trump is against it.
The US president says if votes are mailed in then it will be the most inaccurate and fraudulent election in the history of America, therefore the election can be delayed until the people can go out and vote.
Later on Thursday, Trump faced the press and was bombarded with questions. However, he stuck to his message. Trump claimed ballots will be forged and the election will be triggered.
Several studies have shown that all forms of voting fraud are very rare in the US. The US president himself set up a panel to investigate election corruption but it was disbanded as they found no real evidence of fraud.
The president cannot cancel or postpone it with an order since a law made in the 1845 permanently fixed the election date - the first Tuesday in November. This year it falls on November 3. Only the US Congress can delay the polls with a constitution amendment and major lawmakers have already rejected the idea.
Senior members of Trump's own party say that the election will happen on November 3. Democrats haven't backed Trump. Some feel it will buy him some time to make some gains. Trump is behind Joe Biden in the opinion polls. A delay would buy him some time. Unfortunately for Trump he doesn’t have the powers to make his wish come true.