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From: geb@cadre.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re: what happens if Reagan dies?
Message-ID: <94@cadre.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 1-Dec-84 10:54:50 EST
Article-I.D.: cadre.94
Posted: Sat Dec  1 10:54:50 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 05:34:27 EST
References: <301@bonnie.UUCP>
Organization: Decision Systems Lab., Univ. of Pgh.
Lines: 17

The electors are not bound to vote for any specific candidate,
despite the fact that they ran  as "Reagan" electors.  Indeed,
mavericks in the past have voted for someone else.  In 1972
Roger MacBride, a Nixon elector from Virginia, cast his vote
for John Hospers for President, and Toni Nathan for Vice President,
making Nathan the first woman ever to receive an electoral vote.
(Hospers and Nathan were Libertarian Party nominees.)  Since
Mondale has only a tiny minority of electors, it would well be
possible for the Reagan electors to caucus and decide to elect
someone other than Bush (and well they might, since Bush is
"too liberal" for a lot of them).  If they could be sure of
a majority, it would be possible for them to elect anyone
they wished, but if they deadlocked, the Democratic House
of Representatives would elect the president.  They would
probably play it safe and elect Bush, otherwise, there would
probably be an amendment to the constitution to get rid of
the electoral college before the next election.