I went in search to see if any national election, Presidential or Congressional had ever been canceled. Ever since 1788, every Presidential and Congressional election has been held on time. We have had the Civil War, World Wars, and pandemics, and every federal election has proceeded on schedule. Why? I would want to think America has always embraced the vision of Representative Government that our Founding Fathers believed in and fought for. They wrote and confirmed our Constitution, showing the entire world their vision of democracy.

We have had historical stress tests on why continuing our elections even during a national election matters. In 1864, our country was literally at war with itself in the Great Civil War. Lincoln insisted the election proceed, arguing that cancelling it would be a victory for disunion. Voters cast their ballots even from the battlefields, showing that during times of stress, we had to adapt so people could vote. During the Great Depression in 1932, there was no delay in our elections, even though unemployment was at 25%. During World War II, the 1944 election was held, despite millions of Americans being overseas. Congress created absentee voting rather than trying to postpone the election. Additionally, the same phenomenon occurred during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In fact, during both of those wars, we had a change in Presidents and political parties as a result of the elections. During the Cold War and fears of nuclear attack, our elections continued. Post 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security reviewed whether a catastrophic attack could justify postponement. The conclusion was that no federal authority exists to cancel or delay a national election. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the most widespread domestic emergency in modern history, the elections went on. States modified how people voted, but the most important thing was that people were still able to vote, and the federal election was held on time. The bottom line is that every national election since the founding of our Constitution has been held on time. No wars, no pandemic, no economic collapse, no terrorist attack has ever stopped it.

Remembering that no federal election has been cancelled in our entire history, there has been one person just suggesting that. That person would be Donald Trump. Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of canceling, skipping, or delegitimizing future elections, especially the 2026 midterms. Of course, later it was stated that he was “joking”, but this is the man who wanted an angry mob hang his Vice President because in 2020 refused to not do his constitutional duty and certify the 2020 election as requested by Trump. Trump has stated that “We shouldn’t even have elections”  in 2026, arguing that his administration has accomplished so much that voting is unnecessary. Twice in interviews, Trump has floated the idea of canceling the upcoming midterm elections, saying Republicans might lose seats and implying elections were unnecessary. At a House Republican retreat, he talked about canceling future elections altogether. Then again, at another Republican gathering, he raised the possibility of canceling the midterms. In an interview with Reuters, he again talked about skipping the midterms and suggested he might not accept the outcome of the elections if the Republicans lost. Some have stated that Trump is joking, but Trump really doesn’t joke like that. His past record has shown he is dead serious.

This pattern of talking about canceling elections and not accepting the results has really alarmed lawmakers and analysts who see it as part of a broader challenge to our democracy. I see it as a direct challenge to our democracy and a real rejection of our Constitution. By the Constitution, the President has no authority to cancel or reschedule any election.   By the Constitution, the House of Representatives must be elected every two years. If the midterms were not held, would we have a House of Representatives because every standing Representative's term would have expired? Not by Constitutional standards in my opinion. Many Senators' terms are going to end. If the election were not held, would every state be represented by two Senators as demanded by the Constitution? The answer would be no. Trump and every Republican have taken an oath to protect and uphold the Constitution, so if those midterm elections were not held, that would basically mean the end of the Constitution and our Democratic Republic.

Trump has stated in the past that he would not accept the election loss if he was the one who lost. He refused to accept the results of the 2020 election and sent Domestic Terrorist to try to interfere with the certification of the results. To this day, he continues to deny that he lost, no matter how many challenges to the results he lost. He stated, “If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.” He has made that statement even though there has been no evidence that there were illegal votes that turned the election against him. Funny how if he wins the election is legal, and if he loses, the election is rigged.

 When you really look at it, you can see that this is some real third-world stuff. Refusing to accept the results of an election is unusual for a democracy. It is more about a situation that happens in a declining democracy. Are we a declining Democracy? Over two centuries, every candidate has accepted the certified results of an election. That is, until Donald Trump. He is the only U.S. Presidential candidate to refuse to accept his own election loss. Trump's denial aligns more closely with global patterns seen in countries like Kenya, Belarus, Zimbabwe, Honduras, and Venezuela. Why does this matter? It weakens public confidence in democratic institutions and increases the risk of political violence, as seen on January 6^th. Trump's refusals to accept the results of elections and his attack on the election process here are more typical of a democracy under stress and not the long -established stable democracy we once were.