November Ballot if Obama gets killed after the Democratic Convention?

Discussion in 'Politics' started by nirakar, Jul 7, 2008.

  1. nirakar ( i ^ i ) Registered Senior Member

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    I would not be surprised to see Obama assassinated. How does the US system of government deal with a major party nominee getting assassinated after the Party convention? Who would be on the Ballot? Would Hillary wind up on the Ballot? Would it be McCain versus the third party candidates?

    Would the election be postponed? Would we vote for a dead man and let the electoral college choose the next president?
     
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  3. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    This is bullshit. There's plenty of people angry at every candidate. Why would the people that hate Obama be any more competent than those that hate Bush or McCain?
     
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  5. nirakar ( i ^ i ) Registered Senior Member

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    People who hate Bush tend to hate violence.

    Obama is a bit of an unknown and might actually represent change. I don't know how far those who benefit from status quo would go to stop change. The secret service might do a good job stopping the lone whacko but can they be relied upon to stop a hit organized by those acustomed to getting their way?
     
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  7. Ganymede Valued Senior Member

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    The possibility of assassination is to grim to ponder.
     
  8. Mr. G reality.sys Valued Senior Member

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    Why?

    He's an empty suit.

    He's not worth the lead.
     
  9. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Showing your Independent colours, again, Mr. G?

    LOL.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  10. pjdude1219 The biscuit has risen Valued Senior Member

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    Empty suit? When ever i see Obama their is aways someone in the suit.
     
  11. Ganymede Valued Senior Member

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    Doesn't anyone from the right have any originality? Parroting the same talking points without any references to support it is becoming nauseating.
     
  12. madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    Interesting questions. I'm pretty sure that a lot of states have laws that state after a certain date, the ballot can't be changed. So, even if he were dead, I'm pretty sure Obama would end up staying on the ballot.

    This would be a situation where the electoral college might get a lot more power than usual. If Obama won the election despite being dead, his electors would probably decide who the new president would be.

    Something similiar happened in the year 2000 when Senator Ashcroft lost to a dead man. He'd been ahead in the polls until the guy died. The sympathy factor threw the election to the dead guy.
    As this example shows, any opponent of Obama would be very stupid to assasinate him between now and the election as this would likely have the same effect as the Ashcroft election and just guarantee a Democratic victory.

    Much simplier to try to defeat Obama via normal means than to resort to assasination before he's even been elected. The only one who could possibly benefit from him being assasinated before the election would be Hillary.
     
  13. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    mad didnt this situation come up with robbert kenerdy?
     
  14. madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    Nope. He had just won the California primary, but hadn't yet secured enough votes for the nomination. Also, it was only June. So, the convention hadn't been held yet. So even if he'd had the nomination sewed up (which he didn't, he was in second place), there was still time to change.
     
  15. Foxus Guest

    Lets hope there is no assassination. Obama seems competent enough to help bring this country back on it's feet (somewhat) and it would be a shame to see his friends, family and this country have to deal with such a horrible event.
     
  16. superstring01 Moderator

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    The actual November ballot that you and I vote on does not have a rule that stipulates how a party choses its candidate. If I create the party of "Superstring" I can put whomever I want on it. The Natural Law party's candidate is chosen by the party "bigwigs" the Communist Party candidate choses its candidate through a gathering of party insiders. There is no rule how the candidate is chosen.

    It just so happens that the Republicans and Democrats chose theirs through primary elections (they used to use a very different system before The Great War, much less democratic). Currently both major parties have a "clause" that in the unlikely event of the death of a candidate AFTER the nomination process, the Vice Presidential candidate becomes the nom but must pick their VP immediately. It isn't tidy, but it does the job. In the event that both are killed, then the party bosses can meet and select a candidate to take their spot for the election. People are still given a choice at the ballot, but maybe not the one they hoped for. If the presumed candidate dies before the convention, then the convention delegates can vote for whomever they want (usually the person with the second most votes: In the case of the Dems, it would be Hillary, in the case of the Reps, it would probably be Romney).

    ~String
     
  17. nirakar ( i ^ i ) Registered Senior Member

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    I was missing that info.
     
  18. nirakar ( i ^ i ) Registered Senior Member

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    From http://people.howstuffworks.com/electoral-college3.htm
    ...............................................................................................
    How the Electoral College Works

    by Kevin Bonsor


    Bonsor, Kevin. "How the Electoral College Works." 06 November 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://people.howstuffworks.com/electoral-college.htm> 07 July 2008.
    Inside this Article




    Electoral College Voting

    The final electors for each state are voted on by the state's residents on voting day. In many states, the electors' names are printed on the ballots -- where those names "sit" depends on the state. For example, the electors could be listed directly under the presidential candidates' names (Democrats with the Democratic nominee, Libertarians with the Libertarian nominee, Republicans with the Republican nominee and so on) or simply grouped by party somewhere else on the ballot. And, of course, the names might not even be listed at all. Essentially, it is the electors who get voted "in" who end up casting the "real" vote. Hold on, it seems like the last two sentences don't go together, "How can someone be voted "in" if they're not even on a ballot?" Consider this information from the Department of the Secretary of State for North Carolina:

    Under North Carolina General Statute § 163-209, the names of candidates for electors of President and Vice-President nominated by any political party recognized in this State under North Carolina General Statute § 163-96 or by any unaffiliated candidate for President of the United States who has qualified to have his name printed on the general election ballot under North Carolina General Statute § 163-122 must be filed with the Secretary of State. A vote for the candidates for President and Vice-President named on the ballot is a vote for the electors of the party or unaffiliated candidate by which those candidates for elector were nominated and whose names have been filed with the Secretary of State.

    The key is this part, "A vote for the candidates for President and Vice-President named on the ballot is a vote for the electors..." This is the case for 48 states -- it's known as the "winner-take-all system." The other system, known as the "district system," is observed in both Maine and Nebraska. In these states, two electors' votes are made based on the candidate who received the most votes statewide. The remaining electoral votes go by congressional districts, awarding the vote to the candidate who received the most votes in each district.

    Now, in regard to "winner-take-all" states, keep in mind what we said in the last section: Most of the time, electors cast their votes for the candidate who has received the most votes in that particular state. However, there have been times when electors have voted contrary to the people's decision, which is entirely legal. Although if you do vote against your party, you'll most likely be simultaneously forfeiting your post as elector and you may even incur a hefty fine -- see the sidebar on faithless electors.

    "Faithless Electors"
    It turns out there is no federal law that requires an elector to vote according to their pledge (to their respective party). And so, more than a few electors have cast their votes without following the popular vote or their party. These electors are called "faithless electors."

    In response to these faithless electors' actions, several states have created laws to enforce an elector's pledge to his or her party vote or the popular vote. Some states even go the extra step to assess a misdemeanor charge and a fine to such actions. For example, the state of North Carolina charges a fine of $10,000 to faithless electors.

    It's important to note, that although these states have created these laws, a large number of scholars believe that such state-level laws hold no true bearing and would not survive constitutional challenge.
     
  19. nirakar ( i ^ i ) Registered Senior Member

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    Did the people know that be voting for the dead man ( Carnahan ) that they would be electing his wife? Who got to make that decision? The governor?
     

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