I have been casually following Clay Aiken’s run for congress because frankly I want to see if he breaks into song. Apparently there was a virtual tie in the democratic primary and they are set for a recount. However, his opponent unfortunately fell downstairs and died (and I am horrible or watch way too much television because I can’t help thinking of Mr. Aiken as the evil genius who pushed him). In any case, do they do the recount? If it was within a certain percentage they were supposed to have a two-man runoff. Do they still have a run-off?
Couldn’t the votes for the dead be written off ? Winner takes it all ?
Anyway, elections would be greatly improved by having all the losers executed immediately after. That way you’d only get serious candidates, and the counts would get such exact scrutiny there’d be no dispute.
I’ve seen some articles stating that, if Crisco is found to have won, the state party will pick a nominee, which would presumably be Aiken anyway.
There have been other elections where one candidate has died after the vote. There’s generally a procedure where either the party (if a primary) or the governor (or the real deal) appoints the successor.
There was one notable case in the 2000 election where the candidate died after the ballots were printed but before the vote. Governor pledged to appoint the dead guy’s wife if he won. The dead guy won, and the wife went to congress.
And the guy that lost to the dead guy got to be Attorney General as a consolation prize.
In California, if the winner of a state party primary dies, his name remains on the November ballot, and if he wins, the office is treated as if he had died after he had been elected. (For House of Representatives members, the Governor must call for an election to fill the seat no later than 150 days after the death.)
**What happens when a candidate dies before a recount? **
Same as if he dies at any other time, heart stops beating, no more brain activity, eventually the body begins to rot.
For those who are wondering:
And see also: