Uncertainty looms over America as unprecedented election battle brews
The presidential elections in the USA will take place on 5th November, but that does not mean that the results will be known quickly. Americans, along with the rest of the world, may learn the winner much later. Furthermore, the contest for the outcome may move to the courtrooms, experts suggest.
The prospect of such a closely contested race for the White House worries many Americans, as they don't want a repeat of previous years when conspiracy theories immediately emerged that voting was not conducted fairly. The longer the vote counting lasts, the greater the chance that the entire process will begin to be questioned.
American media, political observers, and politicians are already preparing for the possibility that Donald Trump and his supporters—if the result is not known swiftly or if it is unfavourable to him—will, as in 2020, launch a wide-ranging effort to challenge the results.
There are many indications that the battle for the office of President of the United States may continue long after the elections.
Unprecedented change of candidate
Experts point out that in the event of a win by Kamala Harris, Donald Trump's team may inundate the courts with lawsuits claiming that Harris should not have been a candidate at all.
There are already suggestions that Donald Trump and his team will challenge the very appointment of Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party candidate. As we recall, Joe Biden withdrew already after the delegate-level elections and before the Democratic convention in Chicago. This 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 an interview with the Polish Press Agency.
In his opinion, there is a clear legal gap here. No regulations would directly clarify whether this is permissible.
Exceptionally close race
Przemysław Piotr Damski from the Faculty of International and Political Studies at UŁ indicates that, paradoxically, the Republican storm surrounding Joe Biden's alleged resignation has benefited the Democrats.
- They remained in the media constantly. There was discussion about the Democratic candidate, and there was pressure for a change, and when that change occurred, the campaign was revitalised with optimism and freshness. Harris breathed new life into the campaign. The echoes of Barack Obama's earlier election campaign resonate here, and the introduction of the former president to support Kamala Harris only bolstered her among those who remember Obama's positive message—the famous "Yes, we can" - emphasised Dr. Damski.
He notes that, as polls indicate, the elections are so close that it's impossible to predict their outcome or responsibly name a favourite or even a campaign leader.
- In polls, one candidate leads one moment, then the other, but these are all results within the statistical margin of error. In the American legal system, saying that one of the presidential candidates has a 1 percentage point lead in the polls is a misunderstanding - emphasises the expert.
