• boydster@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      According to the National Archives, it seems like succession might not necessarily apply and would likely be argued over by lawyers should he die before the Electoral College meets. I’ll paste their text below, and I pasted the link in a separate answer

      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, dies after 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” before the counting of electoral votes in Congress, §3 of the 20th Amendment applies. That section 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 becomes President, according to §3 of the 20th Amendment.

        • Wilzax@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Not necessarily. If it’s after the electoral votes are cast, then yes, definitely.

          But the electors are bound by different rules, set by their respective states, on how they would vote if Trump died before then.

    • adarza@lemmy.ca
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      8 months ago

      i remember looking that stuff up before… iirc, vance would not enter the line of succession until the congressional count of electoral votes in early january.

      • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Which again, is inevitable. Good luck getting the Supreme Court to rule against the Republicans if this happened. The ticket was on the ballot, not the individual candidate for President.

  • dhork@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    It has never happened before, so we don’t really know. What I think would happen is that Vance would just get immediately sworn in as the President on Jan 20 if God exercises His Ultimate Veto on Trump’s second term.

    But the Presidential Succession Act only covers vacancies for the Presidency. Once the office of the President is filled again, nothing else happens. It’s not like everyone else “moves up” a slot. Mike Johnson would probably see the VP position as a demotion honestly.

    The Office of the VP would remain vacant until President Vance nominates a candidate, and then it must be approved by both houses of Congress in order for the position to be filled.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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      8 months ago

      And it isn’t a hard rule the President has to nominate a VP, although that makes some things more difficult.

      • dhork@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Yes, the VP position can remain vacant indefinitely, or at least until the end of a term when another VP can be elected through the normal process. The only thing that is lost is the tiebreaking vote. Well, and the fact that if the President has a colonoscopy and is put under sedation nobody is available to be acting President. I don’t think the House Speaker is able to take that job for just a few hours like the Vice President can.

        Kamala Harris was actually Acting President for 85 minutes in 2021, and probably at least once after that.

        https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/19/politics/kamala-harris-presidential-power/index.html

  • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Probably. Republicans would fight tooth and nail to stay in power. And with the House and Senate, plus Supreme Court on thier side it wouldn’t even be a contest.

  • Notyou@sopuli.xyz
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    8 months ago

    Vance would be sworn in as president and then pick a VP to be nominated by Congress. The Speaker wouldn’t move up to VP, they would find a new number 2.

    Mike would be sworn in, if Trump takes Vance out while he has his heart attack.