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DOG FRIEND: Joe Biden and the “Older” dog. Photo: Stephanie Carter / Delaware Humane Association
Being elected in a year ending in zero has historically meant danger and in many cases death for US presidents. Now experts are wondering: What happens if a president-elect loses his life before the inauguration?
News broke Monday morning that incoming President Joe Biden has been out of luck this weekend. When the 78-year-old was playing with the Major dog on Sunday, he slipped and injured his right foot.
The bone fracture is not very serious, but Biden must wear “support shoes,” an alternative to a cast, for a few weeks, the doctor says. He may have to wear the “support shoe” when he is scheduled to be installed as president on January 20.
But before that, you must overcome two obstacles that need to be explained:
On December 14 he will be officially elected by the Electoral Assembly, and on January 6 this election will be ratified in Congress. What happens if a president loses his life before these dates?
Read also: Donald Trump: the most dangerous former president in the world
Complicated rules
It may sound morbid, but given that Biden is 78 years old and outgoing President Donald Trump is 74 years old, at the same time that the United States is in the middle of a very serious pandemic that has cost more than 267,000 lives, and where the elderly are particularly vulnerable, so have the major newspapers. as The Washington Post used space to clarify the issue, including in a two-part series of articles.
The reason it becomes a problem is not just the age of Biden and Trump, both of whom have record years to be president, but the rules are unclear. The news site Quartz has done quite a bit simplified review.
It shows that if a president dies before the Electoral Assembly meets, then the party of the candidate who has won, in this case the Democratic Party, will be able to put a new name on its list. She was supposed to be the incoming vice president, in this case Kamala Harris.
“Unfaithful voters”
Democrats could choose another name, or even leave Biden’s name standing, but Harris would be the most likely. But can the electorate vote for someone else? The rules about so-called “cheating voters” are unclear and vary from state to state.
Since Biden has such a clear voter predominance, 306 vs 232, then it should be well done to get enough of these to break the ranks.
The American expert and adviser in Civita, Eirik Løkke, points out that it has never happened in the history of the United States that a president has died in the period between the elections and the inauguration.
– The rules are unclear, and this is virgin ground, but by far the most likely outcome in a case where the incoming president passes away before the elections are held, is that the “Democratic National Committee” allows Get incoming vice president Harris up the list.
– Voters are party loyalists, and will vote for the party of the candidate that is at the top of the list, even if they can get a smaller number of “unfaithful voters” (unfaithful voters).
You read: This is Trump’s last chance for him to change the election
Congress decides
After the electorate has cast their vote, Congress will officially convene and count it. It doesn’t happen until January 6. And here the rules get more complicated, because if an elected president dies before Congress has ratified the election, then the elected representatives will be able to oppose the election.
Then, all voters in a state can be turned over to another candidate from the same party or to the opposition candidate. But that assumes that both houses of Congress agree, and while Republicans have the best chance of obtaining a majority in the Senate, Democrats have achieved a majority in the House of Representatives.
– If such a case reaches Congress, it is even more confusing what will happen. But more likely, Harris will become president and be allowed to choose his own vice president, although it is actually the Senate that will elect the vice president, Løkke explains.
If a president dies after the election is ratified in Congress, but before the president is installed, the 20th constitutional amendment takes effect, then the vice president-elect is automatically installed as president.
TIPPECANOE: The ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, had the nickname “Old Tippecanoe”. He died a month after being installed in 1841. Photo: Historia / Rex / Rex
Myth of the curse
What about the aforementioned “Tippecanoes curse”? This myth dates back to the ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, who was elected in 1840 but died shortly after being installed the following year.
Harrison had the nickname “Old Tippecanoe” after a battle he had fought against the Shawnee tribe three decades before he died. After he lost his life, it was speculated that Chief Tecumseh had cursed Harrison.
Much later, it was noted that all the presidents who had subsequently been elected this year ending in zero had died while they were presidents: Abraham Lincoln (elected in 1860), James A. Garfield (1880), William McKinley (1900), Warren G. Harding (1920), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1940), and John F. Kennedy (1960).
This “curse” became a topic before the 1980 election, when Acting President Jimmy Carter was asked if he knew of the myth. Carter said he was ready to take office anyway, but lost the next election.
Ronald Reagan, who won in 1980, was later assassinated. George W. Bush, who won in 2000, was also assassinated, but like Reagan he survived.
Therefore, it can be assumed that the curse has been broken …
