Deadly Superstorm Sandy left millions of Americans snowed in, flooded out or stranded without power – and the federal government itself in Washington closed – just a week before voters across the country head to the polls. But if anyone is wondering whether Election Day will be put off, the answer is almost certainly no.
Local U.S. elections have been postponed before – in one relatively recent example, New York put off voting that had been set for Sept. 11, 2001, because of the attacks on the country that day. But presidential balloting has always gone on, even during the Civil War in 1864 (President Abraham Lincoln was re-elected).
Federal law mandates that the national vote must take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every four years.
Some sources say a state might have the authority to put off voting in a national election within its border in case of a terrorist act or natural disaster. But election law experts said that might not be legal, and would definitely be disruptive, especially in a close election like this year’s and more so in a swing state like Virginia, where two days of early voting have already been cancelled because of Sandy. Changing the federal law – through an act of Congress – is extremely unlikely, given the country’s bitter partisan divisions in the midst of a tightly contested election.
“I feel pretty safe in saying the likelihood of an amendment of this federal statute is right around zero,” said Daniel Tokaji, a law professor at Ohio State University and an expert on election law and voting rights.
You can tell it’s autumn in Washington: the leaves are changing color, Congress has flown away and the political surrogates are in full cry. For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, the full cry of the surrogate can often be heard from coast to coast — or at least from Broadway to Reno, Nevada.
