The Electoral Count Act and Presidential Ineligibility

Thomas A. BerryMembers of the House and Senate arehard at work draftingproposals to modernize andreform the Electoral Count Act (ECA). That act defines the procedure for how Congress counts the electoral votes for president and declares a winner every four years. Drafting an updated ECA raises dozens of difficult issues, which my colleague Andy Craig has done anexcellent job ofcataloging andanalyzing. This post will focus on just one of those issues, one that has not received significant attention: How should the ECA deal with a president-elect who is dead or disqualified and thus unable to serve?The Constitution ’sinstructions for how to conduct the electoral count are sparse. The electors for each state must vote, make “distinct lists of all persons voted for” as president and vice president, and mail those lists to Congress. Once those lists reach Congress, the envelopes must be opened in front of both houses and “the votes shall then be counted.” The winner of a majority of the votes is then declared the next president.However, not just anyone can serve as president. The Constitutionmandates that " no Person except a natural born Citizen " who is at least 35 years old and at least 14 years a U.S. resident shall be eligible for the office. What happens if the electors choose a president who is not eligible? And what happens if the electors choose a candidate who has died and cannot serve? Can Congress refuse to count electoral votes for an ineligible or dead cand...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs