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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has been infected by covid-19 in the middle of a fiery electoral campaign. He appears to be in a good mood, but questions arise about what will happen to the elections a month from now if the president becomes seriously ill.
Joe Biden, 77, and Donald Trump, 74, are the oldest presidential candidates the United States has had. In the current pandemic, questions arise about what happens if something happens to any of them. Stock Photography.
Can the presidential elections be postponed?
The president cannot decide by himself to postpone the elections. So far, presidential elections in the United States have been held as planned, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every four years, since 1845, even when the country was at war or suffering from a pandemic.
It is Congress that has the mandate to move on election day and, in theory, can delegate this responsibility to the president, Reuters reports.
Democrats have a majority in the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, so they could decide whether it is reasonable to postpone the election, if someone requests it.
If the election is postponed, all scheduled items in the process will also be postponed, such as the formal election of a presidential candidate by voters in December.
Donald Trump’s term ends on January 20, 2021, and if there is no new president ready to take office, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, will do so on an interim basis.
What if Trump can’t participate?
It has never happened that either of the two major parties has had to replace an elected presidential candidate. And in the first place, it is the candidate himself who must leave.
The parties have chosen their candidates in lengthy primary elections. If the elected candidate no longer wants or is unable to participate, the highest governing body of the parties is likely to choose a replacement.
The highest echelons of the party can choose anyone. Vice President Mike Pence would seem like a natural choice, but Republicans would also have to choose a new candidate for their job.
The ballot papers have been finalized and about two million Americans have already voted early. In this sense, there is a hypothetical risk that voters in such a scenario will vote without knowing who the party chooses to replace.
What if something happens after Election Day?
– This is the most complicated scenario and could lead to many different maneuvers and disputes, Professor Pildes tells the newspaper.
Formally, voters do not vote for a president, but for electors who in turn must vote for a president. In some states, the law requires voters to follow the wishes of the voters and in some they must vote for the same party, but in some, they can theoretically vote for whoever they want. In the last election, 10 out of a total of 538 voters voted for completely different candidates.
If the candidate has been formally named the next president of the United States, it is the next vice president who will intervene if something happens, according to the constitution. If something happens between Election Day and the electorate’s election in December, it is no more clear what will happen, as is whether something happens after the electorate has elected, but before the newly convened Congress formally counts the votes to early January.
In these gaps, in situations the United States has never been in before, legal disputes are likely to arise.
Fixed: In a previous version, there was an incorrect statement about the timing of the presidential election.
