Professor of Constitutional Law and Legal History @ucdavislaw; Author of "The Trials of Allegiance" and "On Treason: A Citizen's Guide to the Law"
Sep 19, 2020 • 14 tweets • 2 min read
The Ginsburg vacancy is a perfect storm highlighting the 3 worst features of our constitutional order: (1) the electoral college; (2) equal state suffrage in the Senate; and (3) life tenure for Supreme Court justices. All contribute to the awfulness of this particular moment.(1)
First, despite losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, Trump assumed office by winning the electoral college. No president who lost the popular vote has nominated a Supreme Court justice since the late nineteenth century. (2)
Mar 13, 2020 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
And even if the election was delayed, Trump's and Pence's terms would still end at noon on January 20, 2021. If no election has been held by that point, the Speaker of the House would assume the powers of the presidency under the Presidential Succession Act.
This assumes, of course, that the elections for the House, or at least some of them, manage to go forward even if the full presidential election does not. The Speaker, however, is not constitutionally required to be a member of the House.
