# What would happen if Trump withdrew from the race? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593 "2016-08-02T23:29:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/1 "2016-08-02T23:29:26Z")
Hypothetically… What would happen if Trump withdrew from the presidential race? Would the RNC nominate someone else? Is there a timeframe when the names on the ballot become fixed? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/2 "2016-08-02T23:41:57Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > Is there a timeframe when the names on the ballot become fixed? As I recall there’s a hard cutoff when absentee ballots are printed and placed in locked containers. I don’t recall the exact date that is though. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/3 "2016-08-02T23:46:28Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > Hypothetically… What would happen if Trump withdrew from the presidential race? Would the RNC nominate someone else? Is there a timeframe when the names on the ballot become fixed? The rules of the Republican Party ([rule 9](https://s3.amazonaws.com/prod-static-ngop-pbl/docs/Rules_of_the_Republican+Party_FINAL_S14090314.pdf)) allow the Republican National Committee to name a replacement. What happens to the ballot is up to each state. For example, Texas allows the state Republican Party to name a replacement up to 71 days before the election. If they miss this 71 day deadline, Trump’s name would remain on the ballot but votes for Trump would count as votes for the Republican electors. [Texas Election Code § 192.062. Presidential or Vice-Presidential Party Nominee](http://codes.findlaw.com/tx/election-code/elec-sect-192-062.html). Most states have similar laws (the dates may vary). ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/4 "2016-08-03T02:21:02Z")
The electoral college is the wild card in this–I believe that some states legally bind the electors to vote for the candidate on the ballot, others don’t. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/5 "2016-08-03T02:26:38Z")
IIRC, Attorney General (former) John Ashcroft lost to a dead guy. Yes… > [@](#): > > In the midst of a tight race, Carnahan died in an airplane crash two weeks prior to the election. Ashcroft suspended all campaigning after the plane crash. Because of Missouri state election laws and the short time to election, Carnahan’s name remained on the ballot. Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson became governor upon Carnahan’s death. Wilson said that should Carnahan be elected, he wanted to appoint his widow, Jean Carnahan, to serve in her husband’s place; Mrs. Carnahan announced that, in accordance with her late husband’s goal, she would serve in the Senate if voters elected his name. Following these developments, Ashcroft resumed campaigning.[11] > > Carnahan won the election 51% to 49%. No one had ever posthumously won election to the Senate, though voters had on at least three occasions chosen deceased candidates for the House of Representatives ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/6 "2016-08-03T04:26:42Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > The electoral college is the wild card in this–I believe that some states legally bind the electors to vote for the candidate on the ballot, others don’t. > [@](#): > > There is no [Constitutional provision](http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/provisions.html#provisions) or [Federal law](http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/provisions.html#law) that requires Electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their states. Some states, however, require Electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories—Electors bound by state law and those bound by pledges to political parties. > > The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Constitution does not require that Electors be completely free to act as they choose and therefore, political parties may extract pledges from electors to vote for the parties’ nominees. Some state laws provide that so-called “faithless Electors” may be subject to fines or may be disqualified for casting an invalid vote and be replaced by a substitute elector. The Supreme Court has not specifically ruled on the question of whether pledges and penalties for failure to vote as pledged may be enforced under the [Constitution](http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/provisions.html#provisions). No Elector has ever been prosecuted for failing to vote as pledged. [About the Electors | National Archives](http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/electors.html) The linked page also lists the various state laws as they apply to electors. > [@](#): > > Most of these state laws generally assert that an elector shall cast his or her vote for the candidates who won a majority of the state’s popular vote, or for the candidate of the party that nominated the elector. > > Over the years, however, despite legal oversight, a number of electors have violated their state’s law binding them to their pledged vote. However, these violators often only face being charged with a misdemeanor or a small fine, usually $1,000. Many constitutional scholars agree that electors remain free agents despite state laws and that, if challenged, such laws would be ruled unconstitutional. Therefore, electors can decline to cast their vote for a specific candidate (the one that wins the popular vote of their state), either voting for an alternative candidate, or abstaining completely. In fact, in the 2000 election, Barbara Lett-Simmons, an elector for the District of Columbia, cast a blank ballot for president and vice president in protest of the District’s unfair voting rights. Indeed, when it comes down to it, electors are ultimately free to vote for whom they personally prefer, despite the general public’s desire. [http://archive.fairvote.org/?page=967](http://archive.fairvote.org/?page=967) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/7 "2016-08-04T08:06:59Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > The electoral college is the wild card in this–I believe that some states legally bind the electors to vote for the candidate on the ballot, others don’t. Which may or may not be constitutional ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/8 "2016-08-04T08:34:07Z")
So who would be the replacement? If the republicans had a remotely decent one, they’d used him/her rather than let Trump usurp the candidacy. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/9 "2016-08-04T09:17:51Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > So who would be the replacement? It is likely (but not mandatory) that the RNC would choose the vice-presidential candidate, Mike Pence. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/10 "2016-08-04T09:56:23Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It is likely (but not mandatory) that the RNC would choose the vice-presidential candidate, Mike Pence. I’m not sure that’s likely. How many people even know _who he is_? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/11 "2016-08-04T11:04:01Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I’m not sure that’s likely. How many people even know _who he is_? It’s a lot easier to sell the Electors on someone who was actually nominated for office at a party convention than some rando off the RNC’s contingency list. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-trump-withdrew-from-the-race/761593/12 "2016-08-04T12:44:10Z")
Not exactly the same thing, but IIRC in 1972 there was a switch of VP after it was publicized that Senator Eagleton had been treated for depression with electroshock therapy: > [@](#): > > McGovern said he would back Eagleton “1000 percent”. Subsequently, McGovern consulted confidentially with preeminent psychiatrists, including Eagleton’s own doctors, who advised him that a recurrence of Eagleton’s depression was possible and could endanger the country should Eagleton become president.[12][13][14][15][16] On August 1, Eagleton withdrew at McGovern’s request and, after a new search by McGovern, was replaced by Kennedy in-law Sargent Shriver.[17] Note that was Aug 1, so with 3 months to go before the vote - plenty of time to change the ballots - assuming they list vice-presidents too. Presumably McGovern got to pick, and then the Democratic party pulled whatever levers they needed to ensure the change happened.