Posted on 08/03/2016 11:34:27 AM PDT by drewh
What would happen if the GOP dumped Donald Trump? Top party officials are reportedly exploring options on how to replace the Republican nominee should he exit the race. But suppose, on top of his Gold-Star-family insulting, almost-treason encouraging, and baby expelling, Trump were to really cross some line, whatever that might be, and GOP leaders decide they can’t support him anymore. Nor do they just want to disown the Republican nominee; suppose they want him off the ballot. Could they do it? Or, imagine if Trump himself that sees he’s about to get shellacked (by a woman, no less) and to save himself the humiliation, blames the rigged system and drops out. Again, unlikely—but not impossible to imagine. What then?
I asked Nathaniel Persily, Stanford law professor and a preeminent scholar of election law (and, lucky for me, an old friend), what would happen if Trump were to quit, or to be formally dumped by the GOP. Could someone else be the Republican choice for president? His answer? “Yes—but it depends on timing.” And there are three sets of rules that affect what would happen next. 1. Party Rules First, Persily explained, are the party’s own rules. The Republican Party rules states that “the Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States.” They could do this by calling a new convention, or, more likely, casting votes remotely. So in case of a Trump withdrawal, Persily said, “you can either redo the convention or, more likely, the RNC itself would just re-nominate a candidate.” What about a Trump Dump? Here, it’s uncharted territory, and Persily doesn't think the RNC has much room to maneuver. But notice that weasel-word “otherwise” in the RNC rules. That basically allows the RNC to come up with any reason to declare the spot vacant. For example, they could, following President Obama, deem him unfit for office – as in, mentally unfit. Or they could hold a vote of no confidence. No doubt, if Trump is fighting them, that would be a bumpy road, possibly involving litigation. It might be easier for leaders to endorse Gary Johnson and move on. But because of that word “otherwise,” it’s likely within the RNC’s power to dump Trump even without his consent. Then they would be able to fill the “vacancy” by majority vote. Interestingly, that person could be anyone. Mike Pence does not automatically move up the ticket. On the contrary, unless Pence drops out (or is similarly found to be unfit, which seems impossible), he remains the nominee for Vice President, which, after all, is a separate office and a separate nomination. Most likely, the GOP’s knight in shining armor, House Speaker Paul Ryan, would be a leading candidate for a last-minute substitution. So, within the GOP rules, it’s not hard to replace Trump if he drops out, and it’s not impossible to kick him off the ticket because of the word “otherwise.” 2. State Ballot Rules Then it gets trickier.
Right now, Donald Trump’s name is set to appear on the ballots of 50 states. “So you have questions about ballot access,” Persily said. “There are deadlines in the state laws and that’s a state-by-state finding.” For example, Arkansas and Oklahoma require names to be certified by August 10, for example, North Carolina by August 5. Delaware’s ship has already sailed; they require certification the week after the national convention takes place. So in those states, even if the RNC duly voted for his replacement, it would simply be too late to take his name off the ballot. In other states, though, the RNC has as late as September 21 (Alaska) to replace the names on the ballot. “If it happens in August,” Persily said, “it’s not really a big problem.” In September, if Trump were to quit or get fired, it’s possible that his name would be on some state ballots but not on others. And in October, it’s too late to take him off the ballot. Now, just because someone’s on the ballot doesn’t mean they are necessarily in the running. There have been congressional races in which candidates have died while on the ballot. In New York, for example, veteran congressman Ted Weiss passed away shortly before the 1992 election. Democrats hastily nominated Assemblyman Jerrold Nadler, and even though voters cast their ballots for Weiss, Nadler received the votes. He’s been in Congress ever since. Presidential elections are different, however, because, as you may recall from the 2000 election, we don’t elect our presidents directly. Actually, voters in each state choose electors who formally vote for president in the Electoral College. And so we have to look to a third set of rules. 3. Electoral College Rules Suppose Trump quits in October. It’s too late to modify the ballots, but the RNC hastily meets on Skype and puts Paul Ryan’s name in the hat. It’s all over the news, and in some states, there could even be notices at polling stations: “Voting for Trump actually means voting for Ryan.” But still, those voters are pulling the lever by Trump’s name. What happens now? The question, Persily explains, is whether state electors are pledged to the individual candidate, or to the party that nominated him or her. “Would Donald Trump’s electors be able to vote for someone else in the Electoral College? Most states say yes – you vote for whoever the party has nominated.” Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wyoming go by candidate. Here’s Maine, for example: “The presidential electors at large shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the largest number of votes in the State.” So in those states, if Trump says he’s running, and his name is on the ballot, those electors have to vote for Trump. Conceivably, if Trump withdraws of his own accord, courts might rule that Trump wasn’t really the “candidate” anymore, even though he was the name on the ballot. But that isn’t entirely certain. More states, though, go by party, including Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia. Hawaii’s statute, for example, says that “The electors, when convened, if both candidates are alive, shall vote by ballot for that person for president and that person for vice president of the United States, who are, respectively, the candidates of the political party or group which they represent.” In those states, the state GOP could well say “As duly confirmed at the RNC meeting, Donald Trump is not the nominee of the Republican Party. Electors must vote for the actual nominee, Paul Ryan.” In sum, right up until November 7, the Republican Party could dump Trump by declaring him unfit for office, reconvening, and nominating someone else. But it would get messier depending on how long they wait. If Trump withdraws, there’s really no problem, legally speaking, even at the last minute. While his name would be on the ballot, electors would vote for the party’s actual nominee, or courts would declare Trump no longer the “candidate."
So, if Ryan loses next Tuesday then these Morons want Trump to step aside for Ryan. Is that the game plan?
Who is this Jay Michaelson faggot?
They would dump him and they would never get their replacement candidate on the ballot in any state controlled by Democrats.
A friggin’ fools errand.
They are worried Trump is going to win..no other reason for this crap
No one is going to drop Trump. If they do, it will look like they are doing so because Obama told them to get rid of him yesterday.
USC/L.A. Times Daybreak tracking poll (T: 45.3% / H: 43.7%)http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3455974/posts
I know! What happened to their rhetoric that he’d be easy to beat??
Trump wanting a mother who had already started to leave the room to go ahead and take her crying baby outside during his speech is now a scandal? You couldn’t make up the level of absurdity the lefties are coming up with as new “scandals” now.
I’m sure the lefties would love nothing more than to encourage the GOP to betray its voters and commit suicide, so we like Zimbabwe can have one party rule.
Trump got 1725 delegates in the recent convention.
That is the 2nd highest number of any GOP nominee in recent history. Only Bob Dole got a higher percent in 1996.
These hand-wringers are the same ones who were fretting that there would be a brokered or broken convention because Trump could not get the 1237 needed to nominate. Trump, however, exceeded that by almost 500.
Ditto. Not a damn "R" will get my vote this year or ever again. The Republicans WILL lose the House & Senate, period. I aim to do my part in the complete and utter destruction of the traitorous GOP.
If they want to guarantee a Hillary win, and losing Congress for a long time, I say go for it.
Does this mean that after Assange drops his Atom Bomb on Hillary the DNC still has time to dump her and nominate Bernie?
Does this mean that after Assange drops his Atom Bomb on Hillary the DNC still has time to dump her and nominate Bernie?
Agree. Life’s too short. I’m not reading all that BS.
Ok! Enough!
Daily Beast, cut back on the Ex-Lax already.
Well, I will have to admit: Limbaugh called this correctly months ago when he said that come October, the some malcontents would still be thinking/hoping that Trump was going to pull out.
Same here. I’ve become an #onlytrump-er.
Whatever moron wrote this has regressed from twelve to four years old
four months old is more like it...infantile, estrogen infused males, what women running our social structure is going to produce...
I hope you’ve done your research on the people on the ballot in your area before making that decision. Anti-establishment figures need to be supported. In the future, I plan to check on where each candidate stood (as far as I can find out) in regard to the GOP establishment, really fighting Obama, Hillary, and the Dems, and especially whether they supported Trump without lies and attacks once he became the party’s nominee.
I used to vote a straight R ticket without thought or research far too often. The GOPe has convinced me never to do that again. But, on the other hand, truly good candidates shouldn’t be opposed simply because they are running with an R after their names. There are certain groups within the GOP that are stabbing us in the back; those are the ones we need to oppose.
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