- The White House is still unsure how the storm will affect next week’s election.
- The President does not set a date for the elections, Congress does
- States must decide their own electoral strategies in case of emergency in accordance with electoral regulations
- Contingency plans could spark legal disputes over final results in some states
- Some of the most competitive states, such as Ohio and Virginia, have felt the impact of Sandy.
A week before a close election, Superstorm Sandy threw up the presidential race, halting early voting in many areas and leading some to question whether the election could even be postponed.
It could take days to restore power to more than 8 million homes and businesses that lost power when the storm hit the East Coast, leading experts to question whether the election can be postponed from Nov. 6.
While the answer is, of course, yes in theory, the likelihood of the election between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama being postponed is unlikely despite the devastating effect Superstorm Sandy had on 60 million people around the world. northeast, or one-sixth of the population. .
US President Barack Obama speaks about preparations for Hurricane Sandy during a briefing at the White House.
But as the storm left its trail of destruction behind, even some of those intimately involved in the election seemed unaware of what options were available to deal with the storm.
Asked Monday whether President Barack Obama had the power to reschedule the election, White House press secretary Jay Carney said he wasn’t sure.
However, constitutionally, the President does not set the election date, but Congress does.
Congress could act within the next week to change the date, but that would be difficult because lawmakers are on recess and campaigning for re-election in their districts.
Ground Zero: New Yorkers begin cleanup after Sandy devastation
Plus, that likely means changing the date for the entire country, not just those affected by the storm.
What’s more, Congress only selects the date for federal elections, so changing the date would wreak havoc on state and local elections also scheduled for Nov. 6.
“For those states that do not yet have an emergency election process, any deviation from the established election process could easily lead to court challenges to the legitimacy of the election,” said Steven Huefner, a professor at Moritz College of Ohio State. Law to ABC News.
“Even states with an emergency plan could face litigation over specific ways they have implemented their emergency plan.”
Some have asked whether it is likely that the election will be held but that New Jersey and New York will be allowed to vote at a different time afterward.
That’s possible, but the legal issues get complicated. States, in general, are in charge of their own elections.
US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accepts relief supplies for people affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Each state has its own laws that determine what to do if an emergency jeopardizes voting and who can make the decision.
Federal law says that if a state does not hold a federal election on the day Congress chooses, the state legislature can choose a later date.
However, experts told ABC News that even minor contingency agreements, such as keeping polls open longer in some precincts or changing polling locations, will likely lead to legal challenges and more provisional votes, which may delay the votes. election results.
But state and federal laws don’t always align perfectly. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has said his state’s laws do not give him the authority to reschedule the presidential election.
Although no presidential election has ever been postponed, some point to previous precedents in which voting was delayed.
New York City was holding its mayoral primary when terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001, and the city rescheduled the election.
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Louisiana’s governor postponed municipal elections in New Orleans after election officials said polling places would not be ready.
Most likely, however, it is a compromise for those affected by the havoc caused by the storm.
Voting hours could be extended in several locations and, where electronic voting machines are used, ballot papers could be used.
Some areas may also choose to move polling places if existing ones are damaged, inaccessible or will not have power on Election Day.
But even changing Election Day to accommodate those affected would create problems in and of themselves.
If voting hours are extended, under a 2002 law passed by Congress in response to the disputed 2000 presidential election, any voter who shows up after hours will have to use provisional ballots, which are counted later and could be challenged. .
Crucial swing states like Ohio have felt the impact of Sandy and could make the difference in next week’s elections.
Sandy’s impact was felt in some of the most competitive states in the presidential race, including Virginia and Ohio.
The more provisional ballots that are cast, the greater the chance that the winner will not be known until days or even weeks after the election.
There is another problem if voting hours are extended in some areas – such as counties with the worst storm damage – and not in others.
That could lead to lawsuits under the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, said Edward Foley, an election law expert at Ohio State University.
Relocating polling places is also risky because it could reduce turnout, said Neil Malhotra, a political economist at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
“If you alter their routine and the polling place they’ve always gone to, even if you don’t do it very far, they vote less,” he said.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said Monday that he anticipated the storm’s impact could linger into next week and affect the election.
He said FEMA would look at what support it could provide to states before the election.
“This will be led by the states,” he said.