What happens to the election if Biden dies before it?

  • With considerable time til the election
  • Not enough time to change the election

Assuming Biden wins on election day, what is the procedure at various stages throughout the election if Biden dies?

  • After election day but before votes are counted
  • Votes counted but not certified by Congress
  • Certified but not inaugurated
  • Any other stages I’ve missed
  • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    I’m just going to point out that trump is only 3 years younger, and has far more risk factors for heart attack and strokes.

    Why does everyone seem to think Biden is the one who will die first.

    • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      Why does everyone seem to think Biden is the one who will die first.

      because we recently saw them in televised debate and one of them looked in significantly worse shape than the other.

      • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I did not take him as in worst shape. I saw a person who couldn’t believe the bullshit being said by a narcissistic moron. I would have the same look at my face in disbelief if I had to debate with someone that I thought still asked for crayons at a restaurant.

    • OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      There are so many more eyecatching things wrong with Trump, so his age never gets brought up. Biden mostly just has his age and the Israel situation, so those are the two things you hear about the most.

    • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      TBH because of his physical presentation at the debate. Yeah, it’s short-sighted, but welcome to the public thought process. Whatever is churned thru the latest 15 minute media cycle seems to be what they believe.

      Doesn’t matter if he had a cold and was dosed up on NyQuil or whatever; his voice was weak, he stumbled over making coherent sentence multiple times, and he just had a blank, open-mouthed stare when between questions. I’ve had shitty colds and been drugged up with cold meds and I know that feel of being sore, exhausted, hoarse, and disconnected. You just want to go have a lie-down, not a public debate against a raging, insulting, narcissistic asshole. But it takes someone willing to understand all that and give Biden the benefit of the doubt.

      There are far too many that start from the “old” part and just attribute everything possible to that which they find disagreeable.

      • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        his voice was weak, he stumbled over making coherent sentence multiple times, and he just had a blank, open-mouthed stare when between questions.

        And apparently that matters more than the blatant lies and non-answers coming from the other side. Gotta say, Americans do seem significantly dumber than the average world citizen.

        • Dark Arc@social.packetloss.gg
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          2 months ago

          Gotta say, Americans do seem significantly dumber than the average world citizen.

          Presumably what an American once said about Germans. It can happen anywhere with the right stream of propaganda.

          • illi@lemm.ee
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            2 months ago

            And is actively happening. Sadly, most people will choose comfortable lies over hard truths.

        • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          And apparently that matters more than the blatant lies and non-answers coming from the other side.

          yes, for estimating whether someone dies due to health condition, that health condition matters significantly more than someone else lying. 😜

          • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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            2 months ago

            Trump is 3 years younger. Biden may outlive him by 10 years for all we know.

            • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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              2 months ago

              he may. but the last debate strongly suggested otherwise. someone asked why do people think that biden will be first to die and this is why. because he seem in significantly worse shape.

              he looked like he was going to die before the debate ends. i absolutely don’t believe that, if elected, he will survive whole term.

              (and that is ignoring the fact that having a pulse is quite low threshold for presidential candidate)

              • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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                2 months ago

                Don’t know about you, but I vote for policy, not a person. But you do what a lot of Americans do, vote for a personality, and that’s why Americans seem significantly dumber than the average world citizen.

                • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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                  2 months ago

                  i am not an american, but i can confirm for you that you seem significantly dumb to me.

                  if you see an error in any fact i stated, please point it out. i can’t do anything about your emotions…

        • AhismaMiasma@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          Groups have been trying to push this message since the debate. It’s not terribly effective for anyone who actually watched.

          A cold and cold medicine don’t account for the very clear confusion and sundowning the rest of us witnessed.

      • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        The right all week accused Biden of taking performance enhancing stimulants. I’m unclear where they got that information, until you remember one thing. When the GOP accuses the left of something, it usually comes out later that its because thats what THEY feel guilty about themselves doing.

    • Invertedouroboros@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I think it’d also count as a full term in office so far as the rule against running more than twice goes. So you could run for reelection, but that isn’t a “one werid trick” to getting three terms in office.

      • pelletbucket@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        it’s a two-term limit with a 10-year maximum. if the vice president gets called up 23 months before the end of the president’s term, they could potentially successfully serve two and a half full terms

  • Furbag@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    There is a procedure for this. To simplify the answer, Kamala Harris will become President on inauguration day in any of your listed scenarios, since she’s the current VP/VP-elect.

    It’s theoretically possible that if Biden drops dead today, that the DNC could manage to pivot to a new contender, but there are two significant problems with that:

    1. It’s suuuper late in the process. They already called the primaries for Biden, so he has the delegates. If he dies, they go to his VP, so it would be up to Harris to give them to someone else at that point if anybody else were to be selected (essentially dropping out of the race herself). This is a bad move because giving delegates to someone who didn’t even primary will seem undemocratic, coronating somebody that the people did not even endorse for the ticket.

    2. Replacing Biden with someone else doesn’t give them much time to campaign. A big part of the election cycle is traveling to swing states to convince those people to vote for you. It’s not that those people are suddenly going to go vote for the other guy (Trump, in this case), but they’re far more likely to stay home because they won’t be energized for this newcomer who didn’t have enough time to court their votes, or to convince them to turn out for their policies/platform rather than be apathetic about the outcome of the election.

  • jordanlund@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    There’s actually a novel that describes the process and it actually depends on when it happens.

    If Biden wins the election, but dies before the electoral college votes, it’s a free-for-all. The electoral college can vote for whoever they want.

    If he dies AFTER the EC vote, but before it’s certified, there’s a different set of problems.

    If he dies after the vote and the certification, the VP becomes President.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People's_Choice_(novel)

  • Serialchemist@ttrpg.network
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    2 months ago

    The Vice President-Elect is sworn in instead. This is covered by section 3 of the 20th amendment.

    Section 3.

    If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President-elect shall have died, the Vice President-elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President-elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President-elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President-elect nor a Vice President-elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

  • wtfrank@feddit.uk
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    2 months ago

    Also consider what happens if Trump dies at any of these stages - he’s almost the same age so all else being equal he’s almost as likely to die during the same period

  • norimee@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Additional question. If the Vice President takes over and becomes President, do they finish the full term or are they just interim president until a new election can take place?

    • Brotherly@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      They finish the current term and appoint a new VP. The election calendar doesn’t change

  • Dorkyd68@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I wonder if anyone is taking bets on who will croak first? Like Vegas for example