The Notorious R.G.B.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday would not commit to providing a peaceful transition of power after Election Day, lending further fuel to concerns he may not relinquish his office should he lose in November. "We're going to have to see what happens," Trump said when asked whether he'd commit to a peaceful transition, one of the cornerstones of American democracy.

Trump said his rival Joe Biden would only prevail in November if the election is "rigged," and suggested earlier in the day it was likely the results of the election would be contested all the way to the Supreme Court.

Asked again on Thursday whether he could accept the election results, he demurred. "No. I have to see," Trump said. "Look you -- I have to see. No, I'm not going to just say yes. I'm not going to say no.”

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday said there would be an “orderly” transition following the Nov. 3 presidential election, one day after Trump declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. “The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th. There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792,” McConnell tweeted.

Today, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution to reaffirm the commitment of the U.S. Senate to a peaceful transition of power as called for in the Constitution of the United States.

Coronavirus fuels historic legal battle over voting as 2020 U.S. election looms

The Nov. 3 contest between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden has generated an unprecedented wave of election-related litigation, as both sides seek to shape the rules governing how votes are tallied in key states.

With 40 days left, the court clashes have spread to every competitive state amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has fueled pitched battles over seemingly mundane issues such as witness signatures, U.S. mail postmarks, and the use of drop boxes for ballots.

Charlatan Magazine’s analysis of state and federal court records tallied more than 200 election-related cases pending as of Thursday. Overall, at least 250 election lawsuits spurred by the coronavirus have been filed.

Election 2020 marching toward the U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court’s decision in 2000 to stop the Florida recount handed the presidency to Republican George W. Bush, the only time the high court has decided the outcome of a U.S. presidential election.

Election 2020 is now destined to be decided the U.S. Supreme Court again.

In Pennsylvania, for instance, Republicans will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to step in after the state’s highest court rejected their bid to limit drop boxes and disqualify late-arriving ballots. The Trump campaign is pursuing a separate federal lawsuit over some of the same issues.

But a flurry of court decisions this month have already delivered several Democratic wins, although many remain subject to appeal. In the key states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina, for instance, officials will count ballots that arrive after Nov. 3, as long as they were sent by Election Day.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg first woman to lie in state at US Capitol.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state at the Capitol today, being the first woman and Jewish person to do so. A private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.

On September 18, 2020, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, died from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer at her home in Washington, D.C., at the age of 87, after serving more than 27 years as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Her passing, and by proxy the upcoming confirmation hearings for her replacement on the United States Supreme Court, will have a seismic effect on the U.S. political landscape in the run-up to the 2020 United States presidential and Congressional elections.

In the hours following news of her death, more than $80 million was donated to various Democratic politicians via the ActBlue fundraising hub, as the U.S. incumbent and candidate for president enter the last 40 days of a historic campaign.

Joe Biden links the Justice’s passing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the ongoing Supreme Court case California v. Texas regarding the fate of the Affordable Care Act. The court is set to hear the arguments a week after the election.

Donald Trump links the Justice’s passing to the outcome of various legal challenges related to the presidential election, including those related to absentee and mail voting. President Trump indicated that he specifically wants Ginsburg's replacement on the Supreme Court to be confirmed by the November 3 election date because “I fully expect the court to resolve the disputes about the election outcome.”

Ginsburg’s core argument was that “equal protection” under the law, as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, cancels discrimination based on sex. Her legacy endures in the march for women's rights, the movement for gender equality, and in her final spoken and recorded words “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”