I’m sure this has been answered at some point but can’t find it.
Title pretty much says it all.
If he dies before the Electoral College has voted, then the electors for his party will most likely be instructed to vote for the Vice President Elect as President, and a new candidate for Vice President.
If he dies after the Electoral College has voted, then the Vice President is sworn in as Vice President on Inauguration Day, and then immediately succeeds as President.
The DNC could select a replacement if it happens prior to the December cutoff. The selectee would more than likely be the VP nominee. If it happens between Congressional certification and inauguration day, the 25th Amendment applies and Harris becomes president.
Ninjaed by two minutes.
Thanks. Kinda thought that’s how it works. Forgot about the Electoral College.
Notwithstanding the implication in Colibri’s and Chefguy’s answer, despite who the party chooses as the replacement, the Electors would be free to vote for whomever they want including in states that have faithless elector laws.
While this may be technically true, the question is about what would happen in the event a President Elect dies, not what might possibly happen in some far-fetched scenario. Given that electors are chosen because they are party loyalists, they are almost certainly going to vote as the party directs.
The Supreme Court has recently upheld that laws that remove and replace faithless electors are constitutional. It is not clear to me whether electors are pledged to an individual candidate, or to the slate of candidates designated by their party (and this might vary by state.) If the latter, then faithless elector laws would apply even in the event of the death of a candidate.
No one seems to know. Some states (I think California) requires the electors to vote for the person who is “the candidates of the political party which they represent” but only if “both candidates are alive.” Cal. Elections Code 6906. But I have no idea how you change candidates after the election, and the code doesn’t explain what they’re to do if both candidates aren’t alive. Other states are even less helpful: Maryland law requires the electors to “cast their votes for the candidates for President and Vice President who received a plurality of the votes cast in the State of Maryland.” There doesn’t seem to be any wiggle room for them if said person is dead.
It’s entirely possible that the outcome in such a case is that the electors in many states will be required to vote for a dead candidate, Congress (in its joint session) will refuse to accept those votes, and the whole thing gets kicked to Congress to decide under that constitutional provision. Edit: It’s also possible that this is what happens if the candidate dies between December 14 and January 6.
In Colorado
Each presidential elector shall vote for the presidential candidate and, by separate ballot, vice-presidential candidate who received the highest number of votes at the preceding general election in this state.
And the point of my post was yours and Chefguy’s posts were ambiguous (IMO) about whether or not the elector HAD to vote for the replacement the party chose. I was clarifying that they did not HAVE to.
Follow-up quetoin about faithless electors… Unless the faithless elector cleverly announces their intention beforehand, how do they get replaced under law? is there not a vote moment and then the vote is done, so any attempt to replace electors would happen after the votes are cast? Or is there a certification process per state, and the state has a chance to look at their electoral college votes and say “Uh-uh, we’re making some elector changes then try again”?
In Colorado the faithless elector Baca had his vote nullified by the Secretary of State and was replaced although the law was very ambiguous about that whole procedure.