Formally, it is not the candidates who decide who has won. The electoral process continues the same way whatever they say about the issue, with only the courts of each State being available to inquiry about allegations of fraud (if there is some kind of evidence about it). The scenario would not ...
Note: In view of Relaxed's comment, I would like to comment that the above semi-apocaliptic answer is for the case that Trump decides to appeal to the public due to alleged fraud. Not conceding defeat or refusing to compliment Clinton for her victory could be rude gestures, but do not amount to claim that the election was rigged (as we said in Spanish, if you shut up it means that you agree); seeking judicial review is everybody's right and may help clarify whatever doubt could raise due to the electoral process; none of these possibilities should cause much trouble (if at all).
@mbomb007 I researched these claims, and found this interesting. As long as the raw (unedited) footage is not available (or a good explanation as why it has not been made available yet), I am not holding my breath (specially since one of the parties behind the video has a record of editing sting videos to alter the meaning of what was actually said). Anyway, welcome to the forum even if it is only to spam this link, let's hope you find something constructive to tell soon. :-D
@SJuan76 The fact that the people in the videos were fired means that the claims are more likely to have truth to them. No matter whether it happened or not, the mere discussion of the plausibility of rigging the election shows that it is possible. Either way, Trump's worries about voter fraud are valid.
@SJuan76 Also, I've been in the forum before. Just because I have no additional rep doesn't mean I haven't participated (I have via comments). Anyways, WikiLeaks has a history of truth to what they release. Just look at the emails. It's not espionage (it's not even Russia, after all, we can't trust our own govt, so why should we trust what the branches of govt say?); it's truth that the American people deserve to know. Such corruption should not exist, and it cannot go unpunished.
@mbomb007 Not necessarily; in the same link I provided it explains that two people had to resign due to a video manipulated by O'Keefe. As the saying goes, "Caesar's wife does not only have to be chaste, but she also must seem to be chaste". Caught in one of these accusations, it is easier to fire someone even on trumped up charges than to escalate the conflict (Streissand Effect). Still, if he is the responsable citizen that he claims to be, O'Keefe should bring the unedited video to the public and press charges in courts if the unedited videos shows what O'Keefe claims they show.
@SJuan76 Like I said, it doesn't matter if what the videos appear to show happened or not. Either way, voter fraud was determined to be feasible and simple to accomplish, whether they were discussing hypothetically or not. This still provides valid reason to be wary of a rigged election.
@mbomb007 Well, being wary and alert is good thing (self-complacency is a big risk), but saying that there could be attempts at voting fraud does not imply that voting fraud is going to happen, or that it would be of a scale enough to change the results (note that I am not Ok with the later option). But it seems that there are not many attempts in either side to improve the situation, maybe you should be more exigent with your state level representatives...
Results in some states were or have been very close. I think it could easily change the results if a few hundred or a thousand people vote illegally in another state.
Though, I'm not sure it'd change the Electoral College results...
Few hundred or thousand seems a very narrow margin... I would say more in the figure of tens of thousands at best
And even in the thousands, it is not as easy as people make it sound... how do you ensure that of the thousand (or thousands) of people fraudulently voting nobody "sells" the information to the opposing side or the press?
The fact that "conspiracy theorists" are generally dismissed is that secrets of that scale are very hard to keep.
But again, my point is not that voting fraud is impossible, but that voting fraud being possible does not mean that it happens (because it is very risky if you want to do it in a scale that gives any result)
And claim that the results have been rigged is a very serious claim... in the USA you are lucky for your almost 250 years of continuous civil rule; you should take a look at the rest of the world and see what happens when political leaders begin claiming that the elections are rigged and the government is not legitimate.
Even through vote count is a last resort of manipulations youtube.com/watch?v=P_Zqbg6QThg. If you are abroad, they US has more means to affect your elections, quora.com/…
Really, links are not a good substitute for expressing your own opinion... you should make the point, and maybe use a link just to illustrate it. It is difficult to get your point.
And yes, I have read a lot about American politics... gerrymandering, disenfranchisement (it looks like you chose these words to annoy non-english speaking people, BTW).
One thing people like the one who was talking on a stage usually forgets is that politicians are not all powerful, either, and cannot change society just by making laws...
And there are advances indeed... Imagine telling someone in 1958 than in fifty years ago that a black man would be POTUS, a black WOMAN would have been Secretary of State, and that in fifty-eight years a woman would have a considerable chance of becoming POTUS, that people would not be beaten or jailed for being gay...
Discussion between mbomb007 and SJuan76
Discussion between mbomb007 and SJuan76