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What happens if Biden or Trump withdraw from the presidential race before the election?

2024-01-18 17:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

What happens if Biden or Trump withdraw from the presidential race before the

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are headed for another showdown in the November presidential election. But former President Trump's legal challenges and the age of both candidates could affect the presidential campaign. Experts point out that the withdrawal of the main candidates from the presidential race would lead to complicated processes for their replacement.

Former President Donald Trump faces 91 criminal charges and at least one of the trials on those charges is expected to take place this year.

Health problems could affect President Joe Biden, who is 81 years old.

"The press talks about Mr. Biden's age, but not Mr. Trump's," said President Biden.

Former President Trump is 77 years old.

"In November we will have a big day because we will take back the leadership of the country," said President Trump.

But what happens if one of the candidates dies or for health reasons cannot continue the campaign before the November elections?

If this happens before the national conventions of the two parties, some states may push back the date of the primaries to allow more candidates to enter the race.

The presidential candidates of each party are announced at their national conventions. The national assembly of the Republicans will be held in July, while that of the Democrats in August. If the front-runner withdraws and no other candidate manages to secure a majority of the vote, then the party's delegates can elect someone else.

"The delegates will have a lot of freedom to negotiate. They can probably choose a candidate who did not participate in the primary election campaign. This happened in our country. But, this will depend on the national conventions of the Republican and Democratic parties", John Fortier from the "American Enterprise" Institute told VOA.

If the candidate who wins the primaries withdraws after the national assembly, then the parties reconvene to replace him and this does not guarantee the election of a vice-presidential candidate.

Even if this happens after the elections, the process is the same. For example, even if President Biden wins the election but cannot begin a new presidential term, Vice President Kamala Harris would not automatically replace him, state electors would have to vote again to choose the president.

But what if they fail to do so?

"At this point, if no candidate secures a majority, the process moves to the House of Representatives. The election would end in a process that hasn't happened in hundreds of years," says Michael Thorning, director of Structural Democracy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

If the President-elect dies after the certification of the election result on January 6, the Vice-President-elect is inaugurated as President of the country.

Each of these scenarios would lead to a very complicated process, which could be dragged out further by the courts, if there was a contestation of the election result.

Considering the attack on the Capitol by supporters of Mr. Trump on January 6, 2021, such a process could again be accompanied by violent actions/ VOA