Just for starters, HOW do you intend to identify such votes? In the US (at least) ballots are intentionally separated from any means of identifying who cast them. If it were otherwise, votes could easily be bought or coerced.
It depends on the State, since each state sets specific voting rules.
Many states just do not address the issue, the votes count, and in nearly all elections, it simply is not an issue (The potential number of votes cast by absentee ballot, of those that then die is so small as to not be an influence in the election)
Something like 10 states say they will be counted, about as many, or a few more, say “No”, but there may not be a good mechanism to catch which ballots may be in question.
Due to the very small numbers of affected ballots, the only time it would be an issue is a very close race, so in the states that do not allow the ballots, a candidate would have grounds to have the ballot thrown out.
Law will depend on location, but what seems to be typical is that it counts so long as they’re alive at the point when they submit the ballot (whether that’s in person at a polling place, or by putting a postal vote in a post box). Which seems like a necessary rule to avoid the disruption of needing to somehow find and invalidate, what would probably be at least a few votes in every election.
The iffy grey area with a postal vote would be if they marked their vote on the ballot, and perhaps sealed the envelope, but never got around to mailing it before they died. Their surviving family might consider mailing it for them posthumously, but (depending on jurisdiction) that may well be considered voter fraud.
So long as they’re alive on election day, even if they die that day, their vote is supposed to count.
If they die before election day, then their vote would be discarded, however, lead times may not make it happen quickly enough. it’ll likely be caught in an audit, but chances are it wouldn’t have an impact on the outcome.
This was brought up due to the Jimmy Carter situation. Trump people were protesting that his vote shouldn’t count as he was in hospice care, and couldn’t make his own decisions.
If a vote is made legally it makes sense to count it. Making it easy to vote makes sense. It’s impractical to check to make sure that nobody died before the votes are counted — especially if the votes are counted between 8 and 10 and the person died at 8:34 or is discovered to have died after 10, but probably died before the count.
Even if you could reject mail in votes cast by someone who subsequently died, there is still the problem of early votes. In my state the early voting process is the same as same day voting. Once they feed a ballot into the scanner there is no way of knowing whose it was.
BTW My mother’s nursing home roommate died at the end of October about a week after I dropped off their ballots. So I guess I am part of the vast voter fraud conspiracy.
Yes because they cast their vote while they were alive, when they had every right to do so. They voted within the allotted period of time to cast a ballot.
I don’t think they would have any way of knowing that somebody passed. Note that if a candidate dies before the election but after they got their name put on the ballot, their name will still appear on the ballot and would be a valid voting option. I believe that if that person actually won someone would be designated by law to appoint a replacement. In many cases it would be the governor of the state. It just depends on what kind of office it is.
Jimmy Carters vote counted right? Lol I’m not American but I was touched by the video of him voting. He was so determined to do it one last time. I know he voted, then passed soon after but I don’t remember the exact timeline.
Comments
Yes their vote counts.
That’s like asking if they died the day after the presidential inauguration… Should their vote no longer count.
A vote is a vote and it should count no matter what happens after it is cast.
Yes, they count. If someone votes in person, and dies on the way home, should their vote not count?
Yes of course.
Just for starters, HOW do you intend to identify such votes? In the US (at least) ballots are intentionally separated from any means of identifying who cast them. If it were otherwise, votes could easily be bought or coerced.
And just how often do you suppose this happens?
It depends on the State, since each state sets specific voting rules.
Many states just do not address the issue, the votes count, and in nearly all elections, it simply is not an issue (The potential number of votes cast by absentee ballot, of those that then die is so small as to not be an influence in the election)
Something like 10 states say they will be counted, about as many, or a few more, say “No”, but there may not be a good mechanism to catch which ballots may be in question.
Due to the very small numbers of affected ballots, the only time it would be an issue is a very close race, so in the states that do not allow the ballots, a candidate would have grounds to have the ballot thrown out.
Law will depend on location, but what seems to be typical is that it counts so long as they’re alive at the point when they submit the ballot (whether that’s in person at a polling place, or by putting a postal vote in a post box). Which seems like a necessary rule to avoid the disruption of needing to somehow find and invalidate, what would probably be at least a few votes in every election.
The iffy grey area with a postal vote would be if they marked their vote on the ballot, and perhaps sealed the envelope, but never got around to mailing it before they died. Their surviving family might consider mailing it for them posthumously, but (depending on jurisdiction) that may well be considered voter fraud.
So long as they’re alive on election day, even if they die that day, their vote is supposed to count.
If they die before election day, then their vote would be discarded, however, lead times may not make it happen quickly enough. it’ll likely be caught in an audit, but chances are it wouldn’t have an impact on the outcome.
That likely varies by state, whether it was post-marked by the specified time, and if they needed assistance filling out the ballet.
Dead people vote in every election
Yes. The act of voting occurs when they submit it. Counting is later
I would think of this as an innocent question a decade ago, but I fear for what you are planning what with today’s political climate.
As with everything, it’s state dependent.
This was brought up due to the Jimmy Carter situation. Trump people were protesting that his vote shouldn’t count as he was in hospice care, and couldn’t make his own decisions.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/10/jimmy-carter-voting-rights-act-assistance/
It depends on the state, but, probably, yes.
Depending on the state, dead people often aren’t removed from the voting rolls for many years.
Yes.
If a vote is made legally it makes sense to count it. Making it easy to vote makes sense. It’s impractical to check to make sure that nobody died before the votes are counted — especially if the votes are counted between 8 and 10 and the person died at 8:34 or is discovered to have died after 10, but probably died before the count.
Even if you could reject mail in votes cast by someone who subsequently died, there is still the problem of early votes. In my state the early voting process is the same as same day voting. Once they feed a ballot into the scanner there is no way of knowing whose it was.
BTW My mother’s nursing home roommate died at the end of October about a week after I dropped off their ballots. So I guess I am part of the vast voter fraud conspiracy.
Yes because they cast their vote while they were alive, when they had every right to do so. They voted within the allotted period of time to cast a ballot.
Candidates who die before election day can be elected so fair is fair.
I don’t think they would have any way of knowing that somebody passed. Note that if a candidate dies before the election but after they got their name put on the ballot, their name will still appear on the ballot and would be a valid voting option. I believe that if that person actually won someone would be designated by law to appoint a replacement. In many cases it would be the governor of the state. It just depends on what kind of office it is.
Jimmy Carters vote counted right? Lol I’m not American but I was touched by the video of him voting. He was so determined to do it one last time. I know he voted, then passed soon after but I don’t remember the exact timeline.