Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Is the 2024 US Election An Attack on Democracy?

 

When Biden was rumored to be dropping out of the running for president, people started talking about how it was illegal for the Democratic party to replace their candidate without the usual running of multiple candidates, debates and voting. 

However, it seems they're wrong, for a few reasons:

1. Biden wasn't yet the official nominee. He was only the presumptive Nominee.  

2. Biden's name was not on any ballots yet. Usually, the names are sent to states after the convention, which we know, had not happened yet when Biden stepped down. 

3. Legal experts agree: Biden didn't break any laws. Besides, didn't Trump just get a Supreme Court Case saying that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts? 

But what about the voters?

Supreme Court law actually states that parties set the rules on how they choose a leader. There aren't federal laws that dictate what parties can and cannot do.

"The people" don't vote on federal candidates. Electors do.

The primary system that is now in place was adopted in 1972. There weren't party elections like we see today prior to the 20th century.


Resources:

Politifact

Politifact article on Trump's immunity case

A PennState article that consulted law experts on the nomination process and funding rules.

Library of Congress article on how the nomination process works.