It’s now increasingly clear that we will not know the winner of the election on election night; and that in addition to all manner of voter suppression maneuvers, Trump and the Republicans will challenge the results in swing states that Biden appears to have won.
In various war game exercises, nicely summarized in this authoritative New Yorker piece by Eric Lach, a number of scenarios have been played out, but they basically boil down to one: The Republicans aim for a deadlocked endgame, in which competing slates of electors are sent forward by governors or legislators.
There are at least four swing states where this is possible. In Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Democrats have the governor but Republicans control the legislature. The Constitution gives the states the authority to pick winning electors, but doesn’t specify how.
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