What would happen in the US presidential election if a candidate died or was disabled?
On Friday, US President Donald Trump said that tests confirmed his infection with "Covid-19" disease and that he had entered quarantine.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Trump was suffering from mild symptoms.
But the diagnosis of infection in itself, less than five weeks before the presidential elections on the third of November, raises questions about what would happen if a presidential candidate dies, the president-elect dies, or is unable to perform his duties.
Here's an explanation of how US law and party rules address such scenarios.
* Can the elections for the third of November be postponed?
Yes, but it is highly unlikely.
The US Constitution gives Congress the power to set the date of elections.
The law stipulates that elections be held on the first Tuesday of November every four years, provided that this day is not the beginning of the month.
In all likelihood, the House of Representatives dominated by Democrats will object to a delay in the elections, even if the Senate, which is controlled by the Republicans, agrees.
The presidential elections in the United States were never postponed.
What happens if a candidate dies before the elections?
Bylaws in the national committees of the Democratic and Republican parties state that their members are invited to vote to select an alternative candidate.
But it will likely be too late to select an alternative candidate in time before the election.
Early voting is taking place in the presidential election, and more than 2.2 million voters have cast their ballots, says the University of Florida US Election Project.
In addition, the deadline for changing ballot papers has expired in many states, and ballot papers are sent to cast ballots by mail to voters in 24 states.
Mail voting is expected to be widely used due to the Coronavirus.
Unless Congress postpones the election, voters will still have to choose between either Republican Trump or Democrat Joe Biden, even if one of the two dies before November 3.
But the questions do not end if the deceased was the winner.
* What happens if a candidate dies before voting in the electoral college?
Under the electoral college system, the winner of an election is determined by obtaining the majority of "electoral college votes" allocated to the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a quota system proportional to the population.
Electoral College voters meet on December 14th to vote.
The winner must receive at least 270 of the 538 electoral college votes.
Usually the votes assigned to each state go to the winner of the popular vote.
Some states allow voters to vote as they wish, but more than half of the states require electors to cast their votes for the winner of the popular vote.
Most state laws that bind their electors do not consider the question of what to do if a candidate dies.
Michigan law requires voters to vote for the winning candidates whose names appeared on the ballot.
And Indiana law states that voters must switch to a party replacement if the candidate dies.
If the candidate dies, the opposition party may challenge in court whether voters, who are bound by their states to vote, should be allowed to direct their votes to an alternative from the party, said Lara Brown, director of the Graduate School of Political Administration at George Washington University.
"The most interesting question actually is, how will the Supreme Court deal with such a controversial issue?"
But Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt says he believes it is unlikely that any party will seek to challenge the will of the electorate if it becomes clear that a particular candidate won the election.
* What if the winner dies after the electoral college votes, but before Congress approves the vote result?
After the Electoral College votes, a session of Congress must still be held on January 6 to validate the results.
And if a presidential candidate wins the majority of the electoral college votes and then dies, it remains unclear exactly how Congress will resolve the situation.
The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution provides for a vice president-elect to become president if the president-elect dies before the inauguration day.
However, the door to legal debate remains open over the question of whether a candidate becomes an officially elected president after winning the electoral college vote, or after congressional approval of the result.
If Congress refuses to count the votes for a deceased candidate, and consequently finds that there is no majority winner, then the matter is left to the House of Representatives to choose the next president, from among the three obtainers of the largest number of votes in the electoral college.
Each delegation has one vote.
Although Democrats have a majority, Republicans currently enjoy an advantage in the event of an emergency election, as they control 26 delegations out of 50 states.
Elections for all 435 House seats will be held in November, so the composition of the next Congress is unseen.
There is no precedent for the death of a winning candidate after the election and before the inauguration.
The closest case was in 1872, when Horace Greeley died on November 29, weeks after losing the election to Ulysses Grant.
His 66 electoral college votes were divided largely between his fellow pollster and other, smaller candidates.
What if an elected president dies or becomes incapacitated after congressional approval of the result?
Under the United States Constitution, the president-elect is sworn in on January 20, Inauguration Day, two weeks after Congress approved the election result.
If the President-elect dies, the Vice President-elect shall take the oath on January 20.
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news
:
# America,
#Presidency elections,
# Trump,
Biden