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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Can the Department of Justice change the date of the 2020 election?

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

By Miriam Himelstein

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Neither the Justice Department nor any other part of the executive branch has authority to delay elections.

Under the Constitution, only individual states and Congress have that power, and this power is not without limits. The Constitution mandates that the presidential election be held before the meeting of the Electoral College in mid-December of the election year, and congressional elections must be held before the start of the next Congress, which occurs on January 3 in each odd-numbered year.

The Constitution also mandates that a president and vice president's terms in office end on January 20 of the year following a general election. If no new president or vice president is elected by January 20, the Speaker of the House becomes acting president.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

National Constitution Center: Does the Constitution allow for a delayed presidential election?

Congressional Research Service: Disrupted federal elections - policy issues for Congress

Federation of American Scientists: Congressional Research Service paper on executive branch power to postpone elections

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.