[Tupelo]

“Deadlines mean dead lines.” Are you sure.

Does the name Robert Torricelli ring a bell?
From Wikipedia
“In his withdrawal speech on September 30, 2002, he stated that despite leaving public office in a different way than he had planned, he was proud of his service. Shortly thereafter, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Democratic Party could legally replace Torricelli’s name on the ballot with that of former U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg”

[philman_36]

Read the decision, not Wikipedia.

SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY A-24 September Term 2002

And the Court having determined that N.J.S.A. 19:13-20 does not preclude the possibility of a vacancy occurring within fifty-one days of the general election;

It was done within the time frame established within the State's laws.

Though this, even though you left it out, was interesting...
Late in an increasingly competitive race against Republican Doug Forrester in 2002, Torricelli suddenly withdrew after disclosure of illegal contributions to his campaign by David Chang, a businessman connected to North Korea.[10] Torricelli had previously denied this and a number of other charges.

The Dumbocrats had no choice but to replace him or lose the election completely if he stayed in.