No I am not talking about the electors. I am talking about the early votes . The voters choose which slate of electors vote. Early voters voted for Biden and his electors but the name on the ballot was Biden. If he is replaced with Clinton while the elector slate is the same the name on the ballot is now Clinton. The early votes for Biden cannot be merged with later votes for Clinton. It cannot be presumed that a Biden voter would automatically be a Clinton voter. So the early Biden votes would be discarded. Enough discarded votes Trump wins the state and his slate of electors votes
Well, I said you could have the last word, but we have had a polite, even interesting discussion so let me offer this for your consideration.
Based on the summaries provided by observers, the July 6, 2020 USSC Colorado v Baca opinion would seem to support your view. At least until one gets to the footnotes.
Consider this one:
8...some States have drafted their pledge laws to give electors voting discretion when their candidate has died. And we suspect that in such a case, States without a specific provision would also release electors from their pledge. Still, we note that because the situation is not before us, nothing in this opinion should be taken to permit the States to bind electors to a deceased candidate.
That goes to the "impossibility of performance" issue I raised; Kagan was writing in terms of a death but I would argue that any event that made the elector's vote one for a "nonperson" would suffice. Since the pledge of the electors is fulfilled at the moment the vote is cast, that pledge could be modified where appropriate as the elector and the state agreed.
I would even go so far as to contend that a State had the right to modify its Certificate at any time prior to delivering it to the Joint Session.
Cheers.