With both Trump and Biden up there in years and a pandemic hitting the country, I find the "don't know" part below rather interesting and possibly troublesome. It seems for the period between December 14, 2020 and January 6, 2021 we're somewhat in the Twilight Zone.
For sake of discussion let's assume Biden wins the November election while the GOP captures the majority of House seats in at least 26 states. Let's further assume dear old Joe departs this Earth in late December before the Congressional count of electoral college votes and thus it is left for the Supreme Court to decide whether Biden should or should not be considered the president-elect at his time of death?
I'm rather sure the Supreme Court (the liberals along with at least John Roberts) would hand the election over to the Democrats rather then to the House GOP in order to avoid a Civil War. I'd consider this the right thing to do (determining November's winner is truly president-elect) even if the roles were reversed with Trump winning and the Democrats having the favorable position in the 2021 House of Representatives.
If this is indeed how it works they really ought to fix it.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a candidate dies or becomes incapacitated?
There is no Federally-required process to follow if a candidate who is projected to receive electoral votes dies or becomes incapacitated between the general election and the meeting of electors. However, individual States may have their own requirements that govern how electors must vote at the meeting of the electors. In 1872, when Horace Greeley passed away between Election Day and the meeting of electors, the electors who were slated to vote for Greeley voted for various candidates, including Greeley. The votes cast for Greeley were not counted due to a House resolution passed regarding the matter. See the full Electoral College vote counts for President and Vice President in the 1872 election.
We don’t know what would happen if a candidate who, after dies or becomes incapacitated between the meeting of electors and the counting of electoral votes in Congress.
The Constitution is silent on whether this candidate meets the definition of “President elect” or “Vice President elect.” If the candidate with a majority of the electoral votes is considered “President elect,” even before the counting of electoral votes in Congress, Section 3 of the 20th Amendment applies. Section 3 of the 20th Amendment states that the Vice President elect will become President if the President elect dies or becomes incapacitated.
If a winning Presidential candidate dies or becomes incapacitated between the counting of electoral votes in the Congress and the inauguration, the Vice President elect will become President, according to Section 3 of the 20th Amendment.
For sake of discussion let's assume Biden wins the November election while the GOP captures the majority of House seats in at least 26 states. Let's further assume dear old Joe departs this Earth in late December before the Congressional count of electoral college votes and thus it is left for the Supreme Court to decide whether Biden should or should not be considered the president-elect at his time of death?
I'm rather sure the Supreme Court (the liberals along with at least John Roberts) would hand the election over to the Democrats rather then to the House GOP in order to avoid a Civil War. I'd consider this the right thing to do (determining November's winner is truly president-elect) even if the roles were reversed with Trump winning and the Democrats having the favorable position in the 2021 House of Representatives.
If this is indeed how it works they really ought to fix it.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a candidate dies or becomes incapacitated?
There is no Federally-required process to follow if a candidate who is projected to receive electoral votes dies or becomes incapacitated between the general election and the meeting of electors. However, individual States may have their own requirements that govern how electors must vote at the meeting of the electors. In 1872, when Horace Greeley passed away between Election Day and the meeting of electors, the electors who were slated to vote for Greeley voted for various candidates, including Greeley. The votes cast for Greeley were not counted due to a House resolution passed regarding the matter. See the full Electoral College vote counts for President and Vice President in the 1872 election.
We don’t know what would happen if a candidate who, after dies or becomes incapacitated between the meeting of electors and the counting of electoral votes in Congress.
The Constitution is silent on whether this candidate meets the definition of “President elect” or “Vice President elect.” If the candidate with a majority of the electoral votes is considered “President elect,” even before the counting of electoral votes in Congress, Section 3 of the 20th Amendment applies. Section 3 of the 20th Amendment states that the Vice President elect will become President if the President elect dies or becomes incapacitated.
If a winning Presidential candidate dies or becomes incapacitated between the counting of electoral votes in the Congress and the inauguration, the Vice President elect will become President, according to Section 3 of the 20th Amendment.
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