“If you must break the law, do it to seize power. In all other cases observe it,” said Julius Caesar.
There are similarities between the Roman Consul of antiquity and the current American president of the 21st century – a tendency towards absolutism, fancy palaces, and so on.
A major difference is that Donald Trump is subservient to the law but also protected by it.
If he believes he has been robbed of a second term, there is a route back to the White House through the courts.
This means the American election could be decided by just votes – the majority of the Supreme Court.
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed around the country, some of which have been thrown out.
There are many details on which cases can be made. For example, in Nevada, Mr Trump’s lawyers have demanded access to the Department of Motor Vehicles to check signatures with voters’ ballots.
They have also complained about an absence of monitors at some voting stations.
Another example is the allegation that "curing" ballot forms breaches state laws.
Curing is when a voter has incorrectly filled out a form or failed to put it in mandatory secrecy envelope.
Some of these voters were contacted by officials, allowing them to correct their error.
Republican lawyers asked why state resources were not instead used to encourage in-person voting instead of coaching people how to fix postal votes?
They will also argue that state laws do not allow for what they are calling a second vote.
Whatever the complaint, most cases boil down to two legal questions and spring from decisions made to make voting safer during the coronavirus epidemic:
1. Did the actions of officials to expand ways to vote increase the risk of fraud, and therefore infringe on the rights of other voters?
2. Because the Constitution says only state legislators can set out election rules, were rule changes made by governors, or other officials, unconstitutional?
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Chicago police officers keep watch as at least 1,000 protesters march through the Loop to demand every vote be counted in the general election, in Chicago, as President Donald Trump tries to stop the effort in key battleground states. AP -
Detained demonstrators are taken to the police station by buses at the end of protest marches against racism and issues with the presidential election, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
Dr Lora Chamberlain, 65, of Edgwater, president of Clean Count Cook County, joins protesters to march through the Loop, demanding every vote be counted in the general election. AP -
A group supporting the counting of every vote gathers on the steps of the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh. AP Photo -
Penny Roberts, of the GOP, talks to a lawyer demanding entry for RNC ballot challengers who were blocked from patrolling the floor due to Covid-19 restrictions at the TCF center where ballots are being counted in downtown Detroit, Michigan. AFP -
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, personal attorney to US. President Donald Trump, speaks near Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump, Trump campaign ballot counting observer Jeremy Mercer, and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi during a news conference held to discuss election-related lawsuits at Atlantic Aviation PHL private air terminal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reuters -
A Minnesota State Patrol holds a Black Lives matter flag he picked up from a protestor on interstate 94, where demonstrators were arrested for blocking the highway during a march against racism and issues with the presidential election in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump gather in front of the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center to protest about the early results of the 2020 presidential election, in Phoenix, Arizona. Reuters -
A New York City Police Department officer clashes with a demonstrator at a protest during the 2020 Presidential election in New York. Bloomberg -
A police officer reads during a mostly uneventful night near the White House the day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in Washington. Reuters -
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is seen delivering remarks through television monitors from the White House Briefing Room in Washington. Reuters -
Detroit police escort a poll challenger out after he refused to leave, due to room capacity, at the TCF Center after Election Day in Detroit, Michigan. Reuters -
A woman reacts at the news of Democratic US presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden winning Michigan, near the White House after Election Day in Washington. Reuters -
Journalists wait for news after early results in the 2020 US Presidential election at the White House in Washington. Reuters -
James Lyles, a Chester County election worker, carries mail-in and absentee ballots for the 2020 general election in the United States to be processed at West Chester University, in West Chester, Pa. AP Photo -
A view of the White House is seen as the 2020 US presidential election remains undecided, in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are battling it out for the White House, with polls closed across the United States - and the American people waiting for results in key battlegrounds still up for grabs. AFP -
A worker with the Detroit Department of Elections inspects an absentee ballot at the Central Counting Board in the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. President Trump narrowly won Michigan in 2016, and both he and Joe Biden campaigned heavily in the battleground state in 2020. AFP -
A person rides a scooter past a sticker depicting U.S. President Donald Trump near the White House after early results of the 2020 US presidential election were announced, in Washington, US. Reuters -
A view of the White House through a fence with placards attached reading "Loser" after early results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election were announced, in Washington, US. Reuters -
A worker with the Detroit Department of Elections helps sort absentee ballots at the Central Counting Board in the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. President Trump narrowly won Michigan in 2016, and both he and Joe Biden campaigned heavily in the battleground state in 2020. AFP -
Detroit election workers work on counting absentee ballots for the 2020 general election at TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are battling it out for the White House, with polls closed across the United States - and the American people waiting for results in key battlegrounds still up for grabs. AFP -
Detroit election workers work on counting absentee ballots for the 2020 general election at TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are battling it out for the White House, with polls closed across the United States -- and the American people waiting for results in key battlegrounds still up for grabs. AFP -
Detroit election workers work on counting absentee ballots for the 2020 general election at TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are battling it out for the White House, with polls closed across the United States -- and the American people waiting for results in key battlegrounds still up for grabs. AFP -
People take a selfie at a temporary security fence around the White House covered in protest posters, as the 2020 US presidential election remains undecided, in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are battling it out for the White House, with polls closed across the United States -- and the American people waiting for results in key battlegrounds still up for grabs. AFP -
Members of the press report from Black Lives Matters Plaza in the morning hours in Washington, DC. The nation awaits the results of a historic presidential election between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden with swing states still too close to call. AFP -
The election specialist Shannon Zastoupil and the election official Pam Hainault sort voter signature books from voting precincts after Election Day at the Kenosha Municipal Building in Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S. REUTERS -
Ballots continue to be scanned and counted at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The 2020 Presidential Election result remains undetermined as votes continued to be counted in several key battleground states. EPA -
Chester County, Pa. workers transport mail-in and absentee ballots to be processed at West Chester University, in West Chester. The winners of two closely watched US House races in Virginia were still unclear the day after the Tuesday election as officials continue to verify and tabulate votes. AP Photo -
Municipal workers extract Luzerne County ballots from their envelopes, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The fate of the United States presidency hung in the balance Wednesday morning, as President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden battled for three familiar battleground states, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, that could prove crucial in determining who wins the White House. AP Photo -
A demonstrator protests with a sign on their back near the White House in Washington, DC. US President Donald Trump alleged on Wednesday that there had been "surprise ballot dumps" in states where he had been leading Democrat Joe Biden in the race for the White House. "Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat-run & controlled," Trump tweeted. "Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted." AFP
If over the next few days a court answers "yes", then it’s possible some of the postal ballot votes could be annulled.
If it says "no", the Trump camp could appeal all the way up to the country’s final court of appeal, the US Supreme Court, where a simple majority of nine votes decides the case.
Last week, Mr Trump’s choice for the vacant position in the court, Amy Coney Barrett, was sworn in, leading to Democrat supporters fearing there is a built-in 6-3 conservative majority.
But theoretically, all nine judges reach decisions based solely on their interpretation of law.
The court's Chief Justice, John Roberts, has already ruled that “different bodies of law and different precedents” in different states mean a decision about a case begun in one state may not set a precedent for all.
In 2000, it took 35 days before Al Gore conceded to George W Bush after a Supreme Court ruling for the "unity of the nation".
But these are different times. Unity is scarce and conceding is unfashionable.
If the court cases drag on, we could come dangerously close to the first constitutional deadline – December 14.
That is when the electoral college electors in each state begin to vote.
Those votes must reach the Senate by December 23 and must be in place by the time Congress sits on January 6, ahead of Inauguration Day on January 20.
Another figure from history, France's Louis XIV – the Sun King –said: "It is legal because I wish it."
Democracy has defeated such despotism and, after the spectacle of the American democratic voting system we have just seen, we are about to witness the democratic legal system in action.
Mr Trump has tweeted that unchecked voter fraud could “induce violence in the streets”.
That is incendiary language in today’s climate, but he’s right, and the law is there to provide a peaceful legal path to either the continuation, or the exchange of power.
All Americans are bound by it – including the men who would be "king".
