Cancelling the election if a terrorist attack occurs

[Jason McCullough]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/9018833.htm?1c

Reading the headline was one of those "holy fuck" moments, but that article isn't actually that bad.

Though the entire thought of postponing an election in any circumstance makes me uneasy......

[Union Carbide]

Registration required?

[Jason McCullough]

Crap, it worked from google news. Now I can't find another article.

[Angie Gallant]

Bugmenot is your friend. (http://www.bugmenot.com/view.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mercurynews.com)

[Duality]

EXPERT: U.S. UNPREPARED FOR ATTACK NEAR ELECTION

By Erica Werner

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The government needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if terrorists strike the United States again, says the chief of a new federal voting commission.

Such guidelines do not currently exist, said DeForest B. Soaries, head of the voting panel.

Soaries, a Republican and former secretary of state of New Jersey, was appointed to the federal Election Assistance Commission last year by President Bush. Soaries said he wrote to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in April to raise the concerns.

``I am still awaiting their response,'' he said. ``Thus far, we have not begun any meaningful discussion.'' Press officers for Rice and Ridge did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Soaries noted that Sept. 11, 2001, fell on Election Day in New York City -- and he said officials there had no rules to follow in making the decision to cancel the election and hold it later.

Events in Spain, where a terrorist attack shortly before the March election possibly influenced its outcome, show the need for a process to deal with terrorists threatening or interrupting the Nov. 2 presidential election in the United States, he said.

``Look at the possibilities. If the federal government were to cancel an election or suspend an election, it has tremendous political implications. If the federal government chose not to suspend an election, it has political implications,'' said Soaries.

``Who makes the call, under what circumstances is the call made, what are the constitutional implications?'' he said. ``I think we have to err on the side of transparency to protect the voting rights of the country.''

Soaries said his bipartisan, four-member commission might make a recommendation to Congress about setting up guidelines.

``I'm hopeful that there are some proposals already being floated. If there are, we're not aware of them. If there are not, we will probably try to put one on the table,'' he said.

Soaries also said he had met with a former New York state elections director to discuss how officials there handled the Sept. 11 attacks from the perspective of election administration. He said the commission is getting information from New York and documenting the process used there.

``The states control elections, but on the national scale, where every state has its own election laws and its own election chief, who's in charge?'' he said.

Soaries also said he wants to know what federal officials are doing to increase security on Election Day. He said security officials must take care not to allow heightened security measures to intimidate minority voters, but that local and state election officials he has talked to have not been told what measures to expect.

``There's got to be communication,'' he said, ``between law enforcement and election officials in preparation for November.''
Man you guys are lazy!

[Midnight Son]

We should probably call the election off right now just in case. I mean, bad things could happen!

[extarbags]

Man, that is a terrible, terrible idea. I can't even believe it was proposed.

[Case]

The 1864 election proceeded despite the Civil War. Two elections were held during WW2 (if you count 1940, when we weren't officially at war)..

It would have to be something much more substantial than even 9/11 to justify a delay in the election.

[Midnight Son]

It would have to be something much more substantial than even 9/11 to justify a delay in the election.

It would have to be: .... wait for it...... a real chance for Dubya and his Axis of Oil to lose.

[MrJoshua]

The only justification for delaying the election would be the mass murder of many congressmen. But even in that case, I would argue to let the dead stay on the ballots and have the governor/legislative body appoint someone of the deceased's party if the deceased wins.

The good thing about our system is that there will be another federal election no less than 2 years down the road.

[Midnight Son]

Ok, the tinfoil hat in the back of my head says that the Bushites may try to find an excuse to delay/cancel the election if it looks certain they will lose. Paranoid, but we live in paranoid times, eh?

[chet]

Delay the election because of mass murder of congressmen? More likely hold a party and an election the next day?

It is a worst case scenario plan, they should have it in place - just in case. Planning for the worst, is hardly a bad idea with this administration.

Chet

[Dirt]

Great, so now we're letting terrorists decide when we shouldn't have an election?

[Enidigm]

Bush wouldn't touch cancelling the election with a 10' pole - but he wouldn't dispute it if some of his more zealous supporters took it upon themselves to use terrorism as a pretext to use quasi-legalese to continue his administration.

I'd quote Lenin on the assassination of Count Mirbach by the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, if only i had that biography with me, but to paraphrase he said "Why should we not let them carry out this thing when we can plausibly deny all involvement and yet still profit from its completion" (which also included destroying the L.SR's, to be fair).

[Troy S Goodfellow]

Could they reschedule or postpone elections, constitutionally speaking? Aren't the terms and requirements for national elections pretty clearly spelled out? Can an act of Congress or Executive Order override that?

Troy

[Enidigm]

Could they reschedule or postpone elections, constitutionally speaking? Aren't the terms and requirements for national elections pretty clearly spelled out? Can an act of Congress or Executive Order override that?

Troy

The real question is could you postpone the election in certain counties or states and spend enough time wrangling in courts until the 'failsafe' date had been passed and the election had to be decided nationally. Sort of use 'postponement' as a procedural trick.