by | Oct 21, 2016 | PoliticsWhatever you think of Donald Trump not promising to immediately accept the election result, don’t believe anyone who says challenging the result would be unprecedented. Donald Trump is not the first candidate to say a presidential election was “rigged.”
People were up in even more of a lather in previous elections. Four times in the history of the United States, it wasn’t the voters, or even presidential electors, that chose the president. Rather, it was a separate branch of government. I write about these in my book, “Tainted by Suspicion: The Secret Deals and Electoral Chaos of Disputed Presidential Elections.”
In the nation’s history, four candidates
who lost the popular vote became president, but there was by no means
anything illegal about it. The Electoral College decides the presidency,
not the popular vote. Until the Constitution is amended, it will remain
that way. There is an effort among some states to undermine the
Electoral College by agreeing to have their electors vote for whoever
won the national popular vote. While this might not honor the wishes of
the voters in their own state, state legislatures have the right to
apportion electors however they wish. Other states have debated
proportional awarding of electoral votes—as Maine and Nebraska already
have. But again, it’s up to the states.
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Disputed Presidential Elections Are Nearly As Old As The US Presidency - The Lid
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