Is it true that if a war is started in election year that the current president will stay in office?

Question

I heard that if a war is started in a election year that the election will be held off and the current president would stay in office

Answer 1

not at all the election would go off as normal in November.... the current president would serve until jan 20 or beyond if reelected and wartime presidents typically get reelected bush, roosevelt, lincoln

Answer 2

I wish.

But I don't think that is true.  

Answer 3

Well, the election would still be held, but come Jan 20th, martial law can be declared and the takeover postponed if it's 'in the interests of the country'. This is actually how many dictatorships happen (Fiji at the moment is under the control of a coup leader who refuses to call an election).

The war doesn't even have to have only begun in the election year. I doubt anyone would get away with this in the USA though unless the war was on US soil.

Answer 4

yes it is true that if there is a war started the current president can stay in office.  Let's just hope that does NOT happen with  our current president.  

Answer 5

No, the election will not be held off.  The only truth to that is the possibility of the war helping the incumbent to stay in office.  It would depend on how well he was handling the war.  If good then he might stay.  If badly then he would probably not get re-elected.  However, the election will not be postponed.

Answer 6

Only if martial law is in effect on Jan 20, 2009.

Answer 7

Nope, it is not true.

We had Presidential elections in

1944 during WW ll

1952 during the Korean war

1968 during the Vietnam war

2004 during the iraq war

They do not hold off elections, the Constitution requires an election be held.

Answer 8

He def would stay in office. However, Congress would have to declare a state of emergency and declare war. The chances of this happening would be very slim. The war would have to be so crazy that marshall law would be instituted. Pretty much, it would have to be a Sum of all Fears situation. But, yes, it could happen. If you are worried about Bush, prob wont happen. Personally, I love Bush and pragmatically that kind of situation is not going to happen.  

Answer 9

No, the President we have now term ends, 2-20-09, period, end of story! There will be a new President on 2-21-2009.

There is always the hope that the same old call to knee jerk patriotism will not get the vote of the new President just because someone is singing the call to War again.

Of course, their is always the situation that calls for action by the President and America including military action, but lately our action is usually without good cause.

This is true in Iraq and it was true in Vietnam. As a Country, we should have passed on those two wars.

Afghanistan is a different situation along with Kosovo. In both these cases their was good reason to fight and we could and can change the situations for the better.

In Afghanistan, Bush has dropped the ball, but then he has dropped most of the balls.

Answer 10

It seems it is a possibility, but no one has ever posted where they found this info and i have never bothered to research it. Anyway I doubt any P{resident would do this unless the war was on US Soil.

Answer 11

Should, for some reason, there be no election this year Nancy Pelosi would become President at noon Jan 20 2009 until elections were held. The Term of the President expires on Jan 20 2009 at noon! This is not The Third World.

The ratification of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution changed the beginning of the President and Vice President's terms to noon on January 20, beginning with Franklin Roosevelt's second term in 1937. The next Inauguration Day will occur on January 20, 2009.