If a candidate drops out do to health reason how is the successor selected....

[Jack from Charlotte]

Say you are your parties nominee for Pres. Let's say you get a re-occurrence of head cancer and must drop out because you're probably going to die in the next year... How does your party select your successor?

I'm guessing there may be different party rules before and after your parties convention when a VP nominee is already named. I'm guessing after a VP candidate has been named and nominated he or she is elevated to Pres. candidate and he picks a new VP candidate. What happens if the drop out happens prior to a VP being selected?

[Nia Zuri]

1. Head cancer?

[Skidmore]

2. I don't know...

I kinda like that description.

:rofl:

[stahbrett]

3. Just a guess, but I would say that each party has certain rules

Maybe an emergency convention can be arranged, maybe voting remotely (via phone, email, mail, etc.) would be allowed, etc.

[NMMatt]

4. Depends on when it happens

Before the convention it is easy. The party selects a different candidate. After the convention it becomes muddles, especially since states have all sorts of filing deadlines for their ballots. If it happened late, you might have a situation where they have different candidates on the ballots of different states. That's the issue, since the party has no laws holding them to their convention chosen candidate, but the states have laws about the names on their ballots.

[Pab Sungenis]

5. The ballot lines are controlled by the party, not the state.

This was more or less decided in the Toricelli case in NJ. The exception would be when it's too late to print new ballots (as it was in the Carnahan-Ashcroft race) and then votes for one candidate would be seen as being votes for the replacement candidate, even if the name on the ballot is different.

I believe the Democratic Party rules state that the DNC picks the new candidate. If it's a Vice-Presidential candidate, the Presidential Candidate would have the option of picking a new running mate and having the new candidate approved by the DNC (see: McGovern-Shriver). If it's a Presidential candidate, it's untested waters, and there might be a revolt within the Party.

More likely would be the candidate toughing it out until after the election, and if they were victorious, until the electors vote in December. Then they could drop out and let the VP-elect become the President-elect. If the candidate died or was forced, somehow, to back down between the election and the electoral vote, then the Party can name a replacement, but the electors are not bound to vote for the replacement and may vote any way they want. (See: the Grant-Greeley election of 1872.)

Any way, it's a mess.

[Raine]

6. I would guess that the party

insiders would decide ... the RNC or DNC perhaps. :shrug: