# Early voting when a candidate drops out **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803 "2020-03-02T17:56:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803/21 "2020-03-03T15:22:32Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Wasn’t voting for Klobuchar in the first place essentially throwing your vote away? A candidate doesn’t get delegates unless they reach a 15% threshold in your district or statewide. Any candidate quitting between the start of early voting and election day is already unlikely to reach the delegate threshold in any of their races and all the people voting for them are doing it for mostly symbolic reasons. It doesn’t much change how symbolic it is if the candidate is still in the race or not. California’s an unpredictable (yet true blue) state, and after the Trump election, I will **never** trust polls again. Plus the polls have been all over the place, And I’m involved with a local group (in Hollywood, so I’m in a liberal cocoon) that was split between the Mayor, Klob, and Biden. There was a lot of discussion about everyone supporting one or the other in order to get combined votes that exceed Sanders. When Mayor Pete dropped out, I switched to Klobuchar because there seemed to be a majority (at least in my bubble) who support her. So voting for her obviously turned out to be throwing my vote away, but I wasn’t casting a symbolic vote-I genuinely thought she could be the one to beat Bernie in CA if everyone rallied. Which is why, as I stated upthread, that early voting is a strategically bad idea, and should be avoided at all costs. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803/22 "2020-03-03T15:49:21Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > He’s on both ballots in Texas today, too. > > Maybe some kindly electorate will feel sorry for him. Maybe Florida? He’s not actually on both ballots–his son, who also happens to be named Roque “Rocky” de la Fuente, is running on the Republican side. That’s the part I found amusing. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803/23 "2020-03-03T17:22:57Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Roque “Rocky” de la Fuente runs for anything and everything. Doesn’t a candidate have to meet some minimum qualification to be placed on the ballot, like getting a certain number of signatures on a petition supporting his candidacy? ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803/24 "2020-03-03T18:43:19Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Doesn’t a candidate have to meet some minimum qualification to be placed on the ballot, like getting a certain number of signatures on a petition supporting his candidacy? I’ll support anyone being on the ballot so I sign those petitions frequently. It doesn’t obligate me to vote for them. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803/25 "2020-03-03T19:07:10Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Doesn’t a candidate have to meet some minimum qualification to be placed on the ballot, like getting a certain number of signatures on a petition supporting his candidacy? It depends on the locality, but a lot of places it’s pretty easy. For the NH primary, the only requirement is some paperwork and $1000 > **[Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in New Hampshire](https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_requirements_for_presidential_candidates_in_New_Hampshire)** > > Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803/26 "2020-03-04T01:43:34Z")
Another article discussing, in some detail, what happens to delegates when their candidate drops out. [What happens to candidates’ delegates when they drop out?](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/03/what-happens-candidates-delegates-when-they-drop-out/) by Philip Bump, _Washington Post_, March 3, 2020. He breaks it down into two cases: What happens _before_ the convention, and what happens _during_ the convention. He also addresses a point that **Chronos** mentions, above: > [@Chronos](#): > > Another point is that candidates almost never actually drop out of races any more. Instead, they “suspend their campaign”. The practical effect is still the same, but in the event that the unexpected happens and they get a lot more votes than they thought, or the front-runner collapses somehow, or whatever, they can still theoretically un-suspend. No, not quite. If they drop out, their delegates get re-allocated to other candidates. By suspending, they technically stay in the race and keep their delegates. Then, the delegates get assigned at the convention, where the rules are different. The rule is a bit more complex than that, and I might have gotten some details wrong, wherein devils reside. You gotta read the article. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803/27 "2020-03-04T08:00:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Another point is that candidates almost never actually drop out of races any more. Instead, they “suspend their campaign”. The practical effect is still the same, but in the event that the unexpected happens and they get a lot more votes than they thought, or the front-runner collapses somehow, or whatever, they can still theoretically un-suspend. There are also Campaign Finance rules that make it advantageous to ‘suspend’ rather than ‘drop’ your campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803/28 "2020-03-04T22:53:57Z")
Yet Another article in WaPo discussing, in somewhat general terms, how delegates are awarded, including a brief mention of what happens to delegates of candidates who suspend or drop out. That brief mention appears to be a summary of the story I linked yesterday, a few posts above. [The Democratic Party’s presidential delegate process](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/01/17/democratic-primary-delegates/?arc404=true), Terri Rupar _et al_, _Washington Post_, March 4, 2020. > [@](#): > > Some candidates who have been awarded pledged delegates have left the race. So what happens to their pledged delegates now? According to an interview Post reporter Philip Bump did with delegate expert Josh Putnam, if candidates have really dropped out, then their statewide delegates would be redistributed among those still in the race according to the vote totals. Since they only suspended their campaigns, as opposed to ending them outright, their delegates will go to the convention able to vote as they wish — but none will be automatically redistributed as they otherwise might be. ETA: So, if the candidate merely suspends rather than dropping out, their delegates will go to the convention a free agents, but presumably they will most likely vote for whoever their (now-suspended) candidate asks them to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-voting-when-a-candidate-drops-out/848803.md?page=1)