[EL] Rumors on replacing Trump (redux)

[Pildes, Rick]

My recollection is that the DNC rules do contain language that more clearly permit the DNC to remove a candidate from the ballot than Rule 9 of the RNC, just for comparison.

Richard H. Pildes
Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law
NYU School of Law

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of JBoppjr at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2016 7:25 AM
To: dschultz at hamline.edu; law-election at uci.edu; lawcourt-l at legal.umass.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] Rumors on replacing Trump (redux)

I agree with David that Rule 9 clearly does not authorize the RNC to remove Trump.  It only authorizes the RNC to fill a vacancy if it occurs, ie for instance, if he steps down. The applicable part is:

The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President . . .

This sentence only empowers the RNC to fill vacancies, not create them.  The phrase that some are pointing to is "vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise". "Otherwise" here refers to how vacancies may occur, ie "by reason of death, declination, or otherwise". For instance, a vacancy could occur by disqualification of the candidate by election officials or a court, because the candidate does not meet the legal qualifications to be a candidate. There may be other reasons that a vacancy could occur.

The power to create a vacancy is a separate and independent power from the power to fill vacancies and that power would have to be conferred on the RNC by a specific rule, which does not exist.

Jim Bopp



In a message dated 10/7/2016 10:04:20 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, dschultz at hamline.edu<mailto:dschultz at hamline.edu> writes:
In light of Trump’s recent comments about women and questions about whether he can be replaced, consider first the rule 9 THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE which is posted below.

The simple answer is no simple answer regarding what happens if Trump were to be replaced on the ticket. The RNC executive committee has the authority to replace Trump if he steps down or is otherwise incapacitated. A coup does not seem possible and it does not appear that he can simply be replaced by the will of the RNC.    But assume Trump is replaced. The second issue is what to do with the ballots. In some states the law would allow for a substitution while in others the law is more complicated and we might a reprise of the Minnesota Wellstone death 11 days before the election (of which I know way too much about). We also have, as with Wellstone, the issue of already cast ballots and rights under state and federal law that may force a right to recast ballots. There are a lot of complicated practical as well as federal and state statutory and constitutional issues at play here and there is no one simply answer that applies to all 50 states.


RULE NO. 9
Filling Vacancies in Nominations
(a) The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and allvacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies.


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