Posted on 12/15/2020 7:35:00 AM PST by Mr170IQ
Now that the EC has voted, what happens if Biden or both Biden and Harris die before Pence meets with Congress to count the votes? Wouldn't the all the votes for Biden be invalid, and the election would go to the House of Rep., and the candidates limited to the top 3 voted candidates from the general election?
Am I wrong about this?
I think if a candidate dies, the Democratic National Committee would then name a new candidate (there not being time to hold new primaries or call a new convention of the party), who would then receive the electoral votes.
I’d ask for this thread to go away. It could easily be misinterpreted.
I have heard something like that before, but I haven’t seen any proof. Is that a settled question of law supported by the constitution, or is it just an informal opinion?
“Is that a settled question of law supported by the constitution, or is it just an informal opinion?”
I know that there are contingency rules for what happens if the elected candidate dies before being sworn in, but I don’t remember what exactly what they are. But AFAIK they do have the force of law.
Is the question itself verboten? Biden sounded pretty sick yesterday. Just wondering if it makes any sense to aim my prayers in that direction.
I’m not an expert, but I’m somewhat familiar with the Constitution. The 20th Amendment says that if the President-Elect should die before taking office, the Vice President-Elect will take office as President on Inauguration Day.
A little historical background. After winning the election of 1932, President-Elect FDR was nearly assassinated while in Florida. Chicago mayor Cermak in fact died in the attack. There was some speculation that had FDR died, Hoover would receive a 2nd term. So the 20th took care of that as well as moving inauguration day from March to January.
I wouldn’t want the secret service to be after you for asking this question. However as a non lawyer, any president’s term ends on January 20 of the fourth year after the last scheduled inauguration. I suppose Congress can authorize another presidential election since only Congress has the power to set the date when electors vote for President.
Biden looks like he can barely make it across the room, so this is a possibility. As far as Harris, she looks pretty healthy - and in any case, only the good die young.
Alex, I’ll take:
“judge” Roberts will call the foreign countries
and rapists who control him and ask what they him want to do.
Whomever the House votes as Speaker on January 5, 2021.
President Nancy Pelosi.
This has happened once before in 1872. See this informative video from KCRA News
I guess not. But the timeline is very soon, and, with tempers raging around here, I sensed something sinister was implied. Sorry if I sounded paranoid. This is just an extremely unlikely a scenario.
> The 20th Amendment says that if the President-Elect should die before taking office, the Vice President-Elect will take office as President on Inauguration Day.
But when does a candidate officially become the “President-Elect” ? I would say not until Congress accepts and counts the electoral votes. Votes for a dead man should not count, because he is not eligible. Therefore, no one would have a majority of the votes for president, and the election would fall to the House.
An argument could be made that the VP elect should immediately receive the votes that should have gone to the deceased candidate, but I’m not sure if that is supported by the language of the 20th Amendment. And if that is so, the position of VP would apparently need to be voted on by the Senate.
I haven’t been physically inside the USA for several years. I don’t even have a current US passport. If the SS wants to fly out here to question me, I think they must have too much time on their hands.
I have been studying that exact question for weeks. It looks to me like Congress decides what to do if both president elect and vice-president elect die. If Congress decides, I assume a republican will win.
I imagine that would be an ugly process, although not as ugly as handing our country over to the socialists would be. In any case, COVID, plane crashes, and other natural/accidental phenomena are unlikely to make this question relevant.
We may be joining you 21 JAN 21. Where are you?
I’ve got a nice home in the Promised Land.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.