Explainer: What happens if the U.S. election is contested?

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S., October 21, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

(Reuters) - President Donald Trump has claimed without evidence that unprecedented numbers of mail-in ballots will lead to widespread fraud by Democrats in the November presidential election. The president has also repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if the vote count indicates he has lost to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

The comments have Democrats worried that Trump's campaign will seek to dispute the election results. That could set off one of many legal and political dramas in which the presidency could be decided by some combination of the courts, state politicians and Congress.