Has a U.S. Election Ever Been Delayed? It Was Held Amid Civil War & Spanish Flu

The quick reply to the query on if an election has ever been delayed in the US isn’t any — not even throughout instances of nice wrestle for the nation. In accordance with Nationwide Geographic, elections within the U.S. have gone ahead on the scheduled date, “even through the Civil Warfare, Spanish Flu, and Nice Melancholy.”

America has by no means delayed a presidential election, nevertheless it has moved the date for “administrative causes,” which have been each throughout the first 60 years of the founding of the nation. Presidential elections have by no means been delayed because of any nationwide difficulty or disaster. 

The query on if an election ought to be or ever has been delayed has been introduced up a number of instances through the 2020 election cycle. On July 30, President Donald Trump tweeted a suggestion that the election slated to happen on Nov. 3, 2020 be delayed, tied to his continued criticism of mail-in voting, which many states have expanded because the well being disaster hitting the nation. 

“With Common Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is sweet), 2020 would be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in historical past,” he tweeted on the time. Including, “Will probably be an excellent embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election till individuals can correctly, securely and safely vote???” 

The query on if an election ought to be delayed has been a subject broadly mentioned through the 2020 marketing campaign. At first it was tied to the present president elevating considerations that the virus wouldn’t enable for correct numbers, claiming that mail-in voting leads to fraudulent votes.

In accordance with the BBC, which spoke with Ellen Weintraub, commissioner of the Federal Election Fee, mail-in voting fraud isn’t a wide-spread difficulty or concern. “There’s merely no foundation for the conspiracy idea that voting by mail causes fraud,” she instructed the publication.  

In early October 2020, questions of doubtless delaying the election have been raised once more after President Trump examined optimistic for the novel coronavirus – simply 32 days earlier than Election Day. Questions have been raised once more on if this analysis would trigger a delay within the election.