If Obama is assassinated in September 08

[SharkB8]

This is where I play the “whatever-I’m-Black” card:

As long as someone different was running for president, there would be people who weren’t quite comfy with that candidate. Some, even enough to wish more than anything that they would not be elected…and a few more who might be willing to take that in their own hands.

As a kid, I just assumed the first black person to run would have numerous assassination attemps…and I’m sure this has come up at the Obama dinner table. I always assumed the same for a woman candidate.

The OP just asked what would happen in this situation. (S)he didn’t say anything about killing him personally. The question is in no way, “racist bs.” Taking it to that level and using the word “whitey” on the other hand, might be teetering on the “racist bs” line!

[Chronos]

If the election had been at stake, though, the party would have insisted all the electors chose a particular candidate.

Strictly speaking, the party doesn’t have any authority to insist on anything the electors do. Some states have “unfaithful elector” laws, but those have never been Constitutionally tested (and it’s suspected they would not hold up if they were), and I don’t think they’d even apply in the event that the candidate they pledged support to were dead. So all of the electors could place votes for Oprah or Dick Cheney or Ed Zotti, and the party would have no legal recourse.

Practically speaking, of course, the electors are chosen specifically because the party trusts them not to do things like that, and if they did, they’d suddenly be getting a lot fewer invitations to events.
Oh, and if the President-elect dies after the Electoral College votes, but before innauguration, the vice-president-elect becomes the president-elect. That one has never come up, but it’s spelled out pretty clearly.

[Chessic_Sense]

What happens if the election winner dies and the Electoral college votes for him anyway? Say Obama is killed and the majority vote Obama/Biden. Can they do that? I don’t think the Constitution says a president must be alive.

[Otto]

@IntelSoldier

What happens if the election winner dies and the Electoral college votes for him anyway? Say Obama is killed and the majority vote Obama/Biden. Can they do that? I don’t think the Constitution says a president must be alive.

Biden as VP-elect would become the next president.

[Whack-a-Mole]

@IntelSoldier

What happens if the election winner dies and the Electoral college votes for him anyway? Say Obama is killed and the majority vote Obama/Biden. Can they do that? I don’t think the Constitution says a president must be alive.

Sure it does:

Article II, Clause 6: In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

It mentions his death not to mention he could not discharge his duties when dead. The VP becomes the President.

[Rucksinator]

@Hilarity N. Suze

“before the election” means before the election, not “anytime up until inauguration.”

After the election, but before the inauguration, it would not be up to the party.

Sorry, I mis-wrote.

[BrandonR]

Unfortunately it’s not just “racist bs.”

[Chefguy]

@BrandonR

Unfortunately it’s not just “racist bs.”

I can never remember: which one is Curly and which one is Moe?

[Colibri]

@gravitycrash

Just for your information. Reagan AKA as whitey was shot most recently. Please stop with the racist bs.

[Moderating]

There was nothing racist about any of the posts before yours; and even if there had been, your post would have been inappropriate for GQ. Do not do this again.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

[Northern_Piper]

The Master Speaks: What if the U.S. president and vice president-elect die before being sworn in?

@Cecil Adams

Since I have a hard time dealing with abstractions, let’s use as an example the demise of Ronald Reagan and George Bush. (Note to Teeming Millions: this was written a while ago.) If the president-elect, the veep-elect, or both die before the electoral college meets, there’s no problem, because the college is theoretically an independent body that can vote for anybody it wants to.

In fact, something like this situation has already come up. In 1872 the Democratic presidential nominee, Horace Greeley, died between the popular vote and the meeting of the electoral college. The Democratic electors thus had nobody to vote for, and since nobody really cared because Greeley had lost the election anyway, they got to vote for whomever they wanted. Consequently their votes were split among four now-forgotten politicians. (Three Georgia electors tried to vote for Greeley–Georgians are used to voting for stiffs–but Congress refused to count their ballots.)

What would probably have happened if Reagan had died would be that the Republican National Committee would have gotten together and nominated a new candidate, whom the electors, being mostly loyal party functionaries, would likely then elect without further ado.

[The_Flying_Dutchman]

@stolichnaya

Maybe the question came up because, oh I don’t know, maybe there was news last night that suggested there may have been a plot to assassinate Obama?

Exactly !

I could have posed the question in more general terms, but lets face it, most of us are far more interested in what’s going in with the Democratic Party than the other party.

I was aware that there were no constitutional issues, but given the history of the recent primary season and the impact of the Democratic party rules, I was wondering if the party had made provision in their rules for the scenario I outlined. It appears not.

There are 9 people listed in Wikipedia on the DNC, mostly vice-chairs. Do all these guys vote for a nominee, or is there just a back room haggle until some sort of consensus emerges?