State laws and party rules on replacing a presidential nominee, 2024

2024 Presidential Election Date: November 5, 2024

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Kamala Harris (D) Donald Trump (R) (won) Jill Stein (G) Chase Oliver (L)

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The Democratic and Republican parties have their own processes for replacing a presidential or vice presidential nominee. Each state also has its own process and deadline for ballot certification and printing. Given these deadlines, parties must also consider the election calendar if they seek to replace a candidate.

On July 21, 2024, Joe Biden (D) withdrew from the presidential race. His came after a number of U.S. House members and commentators publicly said President Joe Biden (D) should withdraw from the 2024 presidential race following the first 2024 presidential debate. Biden initially responded to the calls for him to withdraw in a letter to House Democrats on July 8, where he said he would continue running. Click here to read answers to frequently asked questions surrounding Biden's presidential campaign.

Three main phases of a presidential election determine which party rules, state laws, and federal laws come into play when attempting to replace a presidential candidate. The first phase takes place before a party's national nominating convention. In 2024, the Democratic National Convention took place from August 19-22, and the Republican National Convention took place from July 15-18. While neither party's nominee is official until delegates elect a candidate at the national convention, there are party rules and state laws that come into play if a party seeks to replace its presumptive nominee.

The second phase takes place between the parties' national nominating conventions and the general election, which took place on November 5, 2024. It is rare for a candidate to drop out of the race between his or her formal nomination at a national convention and the general election. The last time a party replaced a candidate was 1972, when Democratic vice presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton withdrew after details about his mental health treatment were publicized.

The third phase takes place between the general election and the presidential inauguration, which took place on January 20, 2025. A president-elect has never withdrawn, died, or become incapacitated during this stage of an election. In 1872, Horace Greeley, who lost to Ulysses S. Grant in the general election, died between the election and the counting of electoral votes. Electors initially allocated to Greeley voted for a variety of candidates, including Greeley.

This page provides an overview of:

• Replacing a presumptive nominee before the Democratic National Convention (August 19-22, 2024) or the Republican National Convention (July 15-18, 2024)
• Replacing a nominee between the Democratic (August 19-22, 2024) or Republican (July 15-18, 2024) national convention and the election (November 5, 2024)
• Replacing a president-elect between the election (November 5, 2024) and inauguration (January 20, 2025)

Replacing a presumptive nominee before the national convention

See also: Democratic delegate rules, 2024, Republican delegate rules, 2024, and What happens if Joe Biden drops out or is replaced as the 2024 Democratic Party presidential nominee

The Democratic and Republican parties do not formally nominate candidates until delegates vote at the party's national convention. The Democratic National Convention took place from August 19-22, 2024, and the Republican National Convention took place from July 15-18, 2024.

A party's presumptive nominee, meaning the candidate who receives an estimated majority of delegates after state nominating events, could be replaced at the convention. Delegates could elect a candidate who they were not initially bound to at the time of their state's election. Both state law and party rules govern how a delegate must vote at the national convention, including whether a delegate remains bound to a withdrawn candidate and for how many rounds a delegate remains bound to a candidate.

Both parties also have delegates who are not bound to a particular candidate at the convention. The Republican Party has a total of 104 unbound delegates, and the Democratic Party has a total of 739 unbound delegates. Democratic unbound delegates can only vote if a convention proceeds past the first round of voting.

Replacing a nominee between the national convention and the election

Both the Democratic and Republican parties have rules governing how to replace a presidential or vice presidential nominee between the party's nominating convention and the November 5, 2024, general election. The section below provides each party's rules on that subject.

It is important to note, however, that states require political parties to submit names of presidential and vice presidential nominees and presidential electors before election day in order to certify them for the general election ballot. Deadlines vary by state and depend on the election calendar, including early voting, voting by mail, and absentee voting considerations.

Democratic Party rules governing vacancies

See also: Democratic presidential nomination, 2024

Under Article 2 of The Bylaws of the Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has the responsibility to fill vacancies in presidential and vice presidential nominations between national conventions.

In the event of a vacancy on the national ticket, the chairperson would call a special meeting. Under Article 2 § 8(d), questions before the DNC, with some exceptions otherwise outlined in the charter and bylaws, are determined by a majority vote of the DNC members who are present and voting by proxy. The bylaws also state that voting to fill a vacancy on the national ticket must proceed in accordance with procedural rules adopted by the Rules and Bylaws Committee and approved by the DNC.

Republican Party rules governing vacancies

See also: Republican presidential nomination, 2024

Rule 9 of The Rules of the Republican Party provides guidance on how to fill presidential and vice presidential vacancies.

It says that the Republican National Committee (RNC) is authorized to select a new candidate by majority vote or by reconvening the national convention to fill the vacancy. In the former process, the three RNC members from each state—comprised of a state chair, a national committeeman, and a national committeewoman—would be able to cast the same number of votes as the entire delegation from that state to the convention. Under Rule 9(c), if the three RNC members did not all support the same candidate, their votes would be proportionately distributed. For example, each RNC member would cast 13 of Kansas' 39 delegate votes.

Ballot access and vacancies for presidential candidates

See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

States require political parties to submit names of presidential and vice presidential nominees and presidential electors in order to certify them for the general election ballot. Deadlines vary by state and are dependent on the election calendar, including early voting, voting by mail, and absentee voting considerations.

Nearly half of the states have a deadline in August, and most require certification or identification of a candidate to fill a vacancy no later than September 6. Replacing a candidate's name on the ballot in September, therefore, becomes increasingly difficult as many states will have already printed ballots or begun to allow voters to cast ballots.

It is possible for parties and election authorities to change or work around these deadlines. For instance, in 2020, the Republican National Convention took place after the deadlines in Alabama and Ohio. In Ohio, the state legislature passed a law to change the deadline that cycle so it took place after the Republican National Convention, and in Alabama, the state's election authority accepted a placeholder letter from the RNC that said the party would certify a nominee once the official nomination took place.

The following chart provides deadlines related to certifying presidential nominees or submitting a replacement presidential candidate, where available. These deadlines and notes were compiled by reviewing relevant state statutes and other government documents. All such information is subject to interpretation.

Replacing a president-elect between the election and inauguration

There is no established process to replace a nominee between a presidential election and the meeting of the Electoral College. A party could ask presidential electors to vote for an alternate candidate at the December 17, 2024, meeting of electors. However, as of October 2022, 33 states had laws requiring electors to vote for the candidate he or she was pledged to according to general election results. USA Today's Rachel Looker wrote, "In some states, laws require electors to vote for the winning candidate. If the declared winner drops out before the electoral college meets, these legislatures may have to change the rules so the electors' votes bound to the winner would still count for another candidate."

The Twentieth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution governs what happens if the president-elect dies before taking office. In that case, the vice president-elect becomes the president-elect. It is an open legal question whether a candidate becomes the president-elect after winning a majority of the vote in the Electoral College or only after Congress counts the vote. The Electoral College is scheduled to vote on December 17, 2024, and Congress is scheduled to count the vote on January 6, 2025.

If the president-elect does not die but becomes incapacitated, he could voluntarily transfer authority to the vice-president after Inauguration Day. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment lays out this process. If a president submits a written statement that he or she “is unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the office, then the vice president becomes acting president. The president can regain the powers and duties of the presidency by submitting a written statement that he or she is capable of serving again.

The Twenty-Fifth Amendment also addresses the possibility that the president becomes incapacitated but is unable or unwilling to leave office. In that situation, if the vice president and a majority of the cabinet declare the president unfit to serve, the vice president becomes acting president. The amendment also outlines how the president can reassume the powers of the presidency. If the president declares that he or she is capable of serving, the cabinet and vice president must respond within four days. If this latter group holds that the president is still unfit to serve, Congress must vote on whether to reinstate the president. The president will be reinstated unless a two-thirds majority of both chambers votes against this.

Noteworthy events

Biden withdraws from presidential race (2024)

See also: Withdrawal of Joe Biden from the 2024 presidential election

On July 21, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) announced on social media platform X that he was ending his campaign for re-election. In a statement, Biden said:

“

It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.

”

In a separate post on X, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris (D) to replace him at the top of the ticket: "Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats—it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this."

Democratic National Committee changes presidential certification date in response to Ohio filing deadline

On May 28, 2024, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said it planned to hold a virtual delegate roll call to certify its presidential and vice presidential nominees ahead of the in-person Democratic National Convention, which took place from August 19-22, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois, and ahead of Ohio's presidential ballot certification deadline on August 7. On July 24, 2024, the DNC Rules Committee voted to hold a virtual roll call vote between August 1 and August 7. On July 31, the DNC said the vote would take place from August 1 to August 5.

On June 2, 2024, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed a bill into law moving the state's filing deadline to September 1, 2024. On June 4, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee passed a rule allowing the Democratic convention committee to schedule a virtual roll call vote ahead of the convention. The committee said it was doing so due to uncertainty around whether the bill passed in Ohio would take effect in time. The Ohio Secretary of State issued an advisory on June 3 saying the bill would take effect ahead of the new September 1 deadline.

In April 2024, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's (R) office sent a letter to the Ohio Democratic Party saying that since the Ohio filing deadline took place before the convention, "the Democratic National Committee must either move up its nominating convention or the Ohio General Assembly must act by May 9, 2024 (90 days prior to a new law's effective date) to create an exception to this statutory requirement."

The 2024 Democratic National Convention date also came into conflict with ballot access deadlines in Alabama and Washington. The Alabama State Legislature passed a law changing the deadline, and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs (D) said he would provisionally approve the Democratic nominee's ballot access ahead of the convention.

See also

Ballotpedia's 2024 presidential election coverage

• Presidential election
• Presidential candidates
• Battleground states
• Presidential election by state
• Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage index

State laws and party rules on replacing a presidential nominee, 2016-2024
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