When Election Day Lasts For A Month
I & I Editorial Board
November 14, 2022
On Sunday, five days after “Election Day,” Americans still didn’t know which party will have a majority in the House while two states were waiting to find out who their next governors will be. Even the BBC has been wondering “when will we know who won.” Have the delays been caused by incompetence or malign forces? Surely both, but it’s the latter that has had the biggest impact.
Forty-two years ago, on the evening of Nov. 4, 1980, the day of the election, President Jimmy Carter conceded to his Republican challenger Ronald Reagan at 9:50 pm Eastern Standard Time. Eight years later – on Election Day – Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis called George H.W. Bush, the GOP’s candidate, and congratulated him on his win.
Hard to believe that many of us grew up going to bed on election night knowing not only who won the presidential election, but who came out on top of many other races, as well. But that’s changed. We no longer have an Election Day. We have Election Week, Election Month – and worse.
Blame Al Gore. The vice president for the man who ran a “permanent campaign” during eight years in the White House kicked off the “permanent election” in 2000 by retracting his concession to George W. Bush on the evening of Election Day. He then put the country through more than a month of turmoil, dragging out a challenge that went well beyond his right for a recount in Florida. His effort to count the votes until he had enough to win had to be ended by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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