What if Donald Trump loses the US election in 2024? Will he challenge the results again? Analysis of its capabilities

Speaking at a rally in Michigan in September, Republican candidate Donald Trump said he would not accept the results unless he won the Nov. 5 presidential election against his rival, Democrat Kamala Harris.

“If I lose, I’ll tell you what, it’s possible. Because they are deceiving. That’s the only way they’re going to lose, because they cheat,” Trump said at a rally in September.

Earlier this week, Harris warned US voters against Trump’s attempts to seize “unchecked power” as the tight race for the White House entered its final week. “He is a man of instability, obsessed with revenge, consumed by grievances and seeking unchecked power,” the US vice president said in her closing remarks at Ellipse Park in Washington on Tuesday.

Will Trump challenge the results?

In the 2020 US election, Trump infamously claimed voter fraud at an event on January 6, 2021, urging supporters at Ellipse Park near the White House to fight after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Hundreds of his supporters then stormed the US Capitol in a deadly arson and riot that many are calling an attempted coup, two months after Trump lost the presidential election.

As Election Day on November 5 approaches, concerns are growing that Trump could challenge the results if he loses. The difference this time is that Trump, unlike in 2020, is not the sitting president. In addition, the United States has passed a number of laws designed to prevent a repeat of the events of 2020.

The Trump campaign’s preparations to challenge the election results after Nov. 5 – in what is seen as a bitter fight with Harris – appear extensive and organized, with growing support from Republican officials and a significant legal strategy, according to a report in the Guardian.

Vance has not certified the 2020 US election

Trump ally, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, said he would not certify the 2020 election. Vance even refrained from saying in the recent debate that Trump lost four years ago.

“Attempts to undermine the results will be more thoughtful, more strategic, more organized and more coordinated in 2020,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights program at the Brennan Center for Justice, according to Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights program at the center. Justice Brennan. Guardian.

Trump could also challenge Harris’ victory in court or raise supporters’ doubts about the validity of her victory, which could have unintended consequences, according to Reuters.

Analysts had expected delayed results on November 5th. And if Trump appears to be losing, the Reuters report said, the delay would give him an opportunity to claim fraud and try to undermine confidence in election officials, and possibly encourage his supporters to protest. .

Delays in results are not unusual. But Trump plans to claim that the vote against him was rigged and that the slow vote count indicates something is wrong, the US monthly magazine Rolling Stone reported in October.

Elon Musk’s Onslaught

Republicans filed more than 100 lawsuits early in key swing states to lay the groundwork for post-election challenges, including baseless claims that noncitizens would vote in large numbers.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who has openly supported Trump, has helped amplify claims about “non-citizen” voting on social media, receiving millions of views, according to a recent Washington Post analysis.

Both Republican and Democratic parties plan to send thousands of trained volunteers to observe the vote count and report irregularities if there are any.

New measures

A number of new safeguards have been introduced since 2016 to prevent a repeat of 2020 from undermining results. A law passed in 2022, the Electoral Count Reform Act, limits challenges to electoral votes and clarifies that the vice president cannot change the vote count. The law also requires that only state governors can certify voters. The law was passed by Congress after the January 6 insurrection.

There are also recent court decisions that strengthen election integrity. The US administration has also increased vigilance by state election officials and planned aggressive law enforcement actions.

Clearly, if election issues reach Congress, Trump could face additional obstacles.