Director, Basque Space Program: Harris may poll better against Trump, but it doesn’t matter if Heritage can ensure she isn’t on the ballot in states where the filing deadline is passed.

Harris may poll better against Trump, but it doesn’t matter if Heritage can ensure she isn’t on the ballot in states where the filing deadline is passed.

Bigger problem: If Biden steps aside because of concerns over his cognitive capacity the question then becomes why he hasn't also resigned as well. If he resigns, you lose the tie breaking vote in the Senate bc VP won’t be replaced.

So Biden should step aside because of poor cognitive capacity but it's fine for this guy to continue? Plus he's a sociopath on top of it. What is it with this double standard? www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5x2...

Forget Biden. Here’s 'stable genius' Donald Trump in his own bizarre wordswww.youtube.com The media can’t help talking about President Biden’s age ahead of 2024. But if they really want to talk about a candidate’s age and mental competency, maybe ...

bsky.app/profile/wron...

This is what I put to Ian Milhiser on Threads. If Biden isn't the nominee, then we have to elevate Harris to incumbent before then.

Especially with scum like Manchin in the Senate

I think it's clear that he will have to resign from both and make Harris the incumbent.

and then the VP who certifies the electoral college is Mike Johnson, or someone GOP House approves? yeah there are issues here beyond the Ohio ballot which, is there a binding decision from OH Supreme Ct the SOS has agreed to follow asking as an illegally purged Ohio voter

I mean, I do think that even this House would approve a VP of Harris' choice, and it would be a major scandal if it didn't. Mike Johnson wouldn't become the VP under any circumstance. It's not like the order of succession all move up the list. The office would just be vacant.

And since the Electoral Count Act reform bill in 2022 clarified that the VP has no role in certification, I don't think that part matters.

Please forgive the pedantry, but the 25th amendment allows for the president to fill VP vacancies. That's what Ford did when Nixon resigned. Ford was also a fill-in for a VP vacancy.

The House will never confirm. Scum like Johnson will ensure that.

Congress has to approve. The senate could be 50/50 with no tie-breaking vote. I doubt the house would even take a vote.

Not the direct point, but Harris is on the ballot anyway, so even if Biden withdrew a week before the election (which to be very clear: he should not) she'd automatically inherit his campaign.

The campaign is one thing, but would that extend to the ballot?

Particularly, assuming the VP candidate would not be on the ticket

Yeah, this is the part I don’t get, how would a VP be elected? Would it go to the senate if Harris won but the VP line were blank?

I believe both the house and senate have to vote to accept the VP replacement, but could be wrong.

That’s for confirming a VP if the office is vacant, but I mean the process for electing one in the first place if nobody gets 270. For the presidency it goes to the house and each delegation gets one vote, and for the VP it goes to the senate.

Congrats to VP Joe Manchin I guess.

Yes. But as you get very close to the election itself it'd cause chaos as folks get confused, but if Biden-Harris qualifies to be on the ballot (which they will), and Biden later drops out (or dies), then it's still valid but as a vote for Harris. She even inherits any postal votes for Biden-Harris

(of course, this would be extremely confusing for voters if it's genuinely last minute, so if they do want to do this they very much need to do it now, not later)

Is this governed by federal law?

No, but (and @andycraig.bsky.social will correct me here) every state does it to protect the ballot if a candidate dies close to an election

Well, if it's governed by state law, then I think the Heritage concern is back in play (although I kinda doubt any state that matters would pass a good-for-one-day-and-train-only thing)

Yes but that assumes courts follow the law ….

And their robes are the freak flags they really fly.

Can't the Biden electors just vote for her?

If he withdraws not just "can they", but they will mostly be obliged to

It's one of the things the states burned in when they built up their respective faithless elector laws: if the guy at the top of the ticket is there, you have to cast your EC vote for them; if they are not, then for their VPE, and if neither, then some secret third thing (ie. differs state-to-state)

Yeah, rare case where the fact that we don't actually elect our presidents comes in handy

that we haven't nationally just formalized it so it works as everyone thinks it should straightforwardly rather than works 95% like everyone thinks it does by some gigantic collection of interlocking and imperfect cogs in a giant conlaw rube goldberg machine is completely insane, but here we are

Funnily enough, "Secret Third Thing" just happens to be the favorite choice amongst the "Biden must withdraw!" crowd.

Yeah, but there'd be no VP on the ticket. She'd win as the *vice presidential candidate* and then be sworn in as POTUS at the end of Biden's term. She can't be switched over to the presidential candidate because waaaay too many filing deadlines have passed.

I mean, the Electoral College would get to meet and vote for her for president and someone else as VP, and there really isn't anything in the Constitution to stop them, just like there's nothing to stop faithless electors.

FCC rules also permit Kamala to inherit Biden's war chest free & clear, but alternative candidates would not be able to inherit that so easily.

I am very confident they cannot ensure it. I am reasonably confident that any Democratic nominee has a secure spot on the ballot. But I really really really do not want to let the Supreme Court decide this question.

And how long does that polling advantage last once they fire up the oppo machine?

I mean, that’s the other thing, I don’t think the pole numbers reflect anything other than this moment in time

Exactly! Not to mention women's polling numbers always tank when they run for office.

SMDH she’s already on the ballot, the Biden vs. Harris debate is a ridiculous distraction. If he wins, she wins because they’re a team…the only thing that actually matters is that trump loses, can we all please just focus on that.

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