The claim: discussions are underway to cancel the 2024 presidential election
(In Spanish: No, it is not possible to cancel the Estadounidense presidential elections | Fact Check)
An Instagram video from January 14 (direct link, archive link) shows a woman saying there is talk of canceling the presidential elections in the United States
“There is more and more talk about a possible cancellation of the elections in the United States this year,” we read in Spanish in the caption of the video. “How do you view the possibility that, as in Ukraine, the elections in the United States will be canceled?
The post was liked more than 8,000 times in one week.
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Our rating: False
There is no credible information on the cancellation of the 2024 presidential election. The Constitution does not mention any provision regarding the possibility of canceling federal elections. No US presidential election has ever been overturned.
Elections can be delayed but not canceled
Article II of the Constitution grants Congress the power to choose the time of general elections, according to the National Constitution Center. In 1845, Congress established this would occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every four years – a date that has since served as Election Day.
THE Constitution also requires that the terms of the outgoing president and vice president end at noon on Jan. 20 and that the president and vice president will serve four-year terms, members of the House of Representatives said. two years and the senators six years.
There are no credible reports of a cancellation or delay of the 2024 presidential election.
In fact, there is no way to cancel the election outright, according to a 2020 report from the Congressional Research Service. It says there is no legal provision in the Constitution allowing an outgoing president to remain in office after January 20, aside from the ratification of a new constitutional amendment.
The report states that the presidential election date has never been delayed in American history.
“It is impossible to cancel an election,” said J.Juan-Carlos Planas, assistant professor of law at St. Thomas University. “The presidential election is managed by the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and they all run separately and independently of each other. Could you postpone or extend voting on the last day? Yes, but even in difficult situations emergency, there are things in place, this would allow us not to have to cancel the elections.
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Congress should pass a new law (approved by both houses of Congress) to delay Election Day since neither Congress nor the Constitution grants this power to the president or any other federal official, according to a report. CRS report.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-checking sources:
- American Constitution, consulted on January 19 Article II, section 1
- American Constitution, consulted on January 19 Twentieth Amendment, Section 1
- National Constitution Center, April 10, 2020, Does the Constitution authorize a postponement of the presidential election?
- Congressional Research Service, March 20, 2020, The postponement of the federal elections and COVID(1)19 Pandemic: legal consideration
- Congressional Research Service, November 2, 2023, Election Day: Frequently Asked Questions
- Juan Carlos PlanasJanuary 18, telephone interview with USA TODAY
- National Geographic, July 31, 2020, The United States has never delayed a presidential election. Here’s why it’s so tricky
- National Election Crises Task Force, accessed January 19, 2020. Can the President cancel or postpone the general election?
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