Got it. Thanks.
A quick question: What about the states and their cut-off dates for placement on the ballot?
States issue the ballots and determine dates to be placed on the ballot. I pray that republican states will insist that in each state the cut-off date is inviolate.. .hopefully the states with republican “leaders” will insist on the cut-off dates and Biden can’t be replaced even if no one can deny he is loony. Of course, the loony SCOTUS will make law and make states accept any candidate at any time (perhaps even after the election).
I can only hope the rule of law reigns supreme. . .but given dems don’t believe in law. . .who knows.
I don't think this has ever been fully resolved, but there are state precedents, like them or not.
In New Jersey:
Robert Torricelli dropped out of the Senate race when he was losing badly to his Republican opponent. Absentee ballots had already been mailed out and voting was in progress. New Jersey Democrats sued to have Torricelli replaced on the ballot by former Senator Frank Lautenberg, on the grounds that "the voters deserved a competitive election," ignoring the fact that the voters HAD a competitive election and were rejecting the Democrat.
The NJ Supreme Court allowed Torricelli to be replaced, and ordered that new absentee ballots be sent out in a different color to differentiate from the original ballots. SCOTUS declined to hear the case, because they were still stinging from the Bush v Gore case and didn't want to be accused by Democrats of tampering with this election.
In Hawaii:
Simultaneously with the Torricelli election, Representative Patsy Mink died over a month before the election. Because she was so popular, Democrats insisted that her name remain on the ballot and if she won then a special election should be called to fill the vacancy. This was the opposite argument than with Torricelli, who would lose.
The courts allowed Mink to remain on the ballot and count her votes.
In Missouri:
Mel Carnahan died in a place crash a few weeks before the election. The Governor declared that if Carnahan's name won the election, he would appoint his wife to fill the vacancy. Republicans argued that the Constitution requires that the candidate must be a resident of the state, and a deceased person is no longer a resident, making a vote for Carnahan an invalid vote.
It didn't matter. Carnahan's name won and the Governor appointed his wife Jean to the seat. The Republican candidate, John Ashcroft, chose not to contest the election, and for his reward Jean Carnahan voted to reject him for Attorney General in the Bush administration.
So, the bottom line is that history shows a deadline won't matter, and whatever solution the Democrats want is what will happen.
-PJ