An early November auto accident

Election day 1920 dawned overcast in the US midwest, particularly in Ohio, with showers in the forecast. Senator Warren Harding, the Republican nominee, cast his vote early in the day in his home town of Marion, OH, and then went to play golf. The rain in the forecast materialized, bringing a soggy end to Harding's round of golf. On the way back, in OTL, his chauffeur nearly lost control of the car, and narrowly averted hitting a utility pole head-on.

However...let's assume that the near-miss was instead a reality, killing both the chauffeur and Harding. The election is in progress when this happens, and news does not spread nearly as quickly in 1920 as it does today. Still, by some time in the afternoon, the nation knows that the Republican presidential nominee is dead. Now what?

Would there be an emergency meeting of a quorum of the Republican National Committee, if that were even possible, to declare Calvin Coolidge the presidential nominee? Or would the election carry on as is, with the electors voting for Coolidge instead of Harding? And what of the vice presidency? Could the Senate declare that since no majority of electoral votes existed for vice president, the office would be filled under the appropriate provisions of the Constitution at the time? And if so, whom would the Senate choose: one of their own (e.g., Hiram Johnson) or one of the presidential candidates who didn't get very far (e.g., Frank Lowden)?
 
The Republican National Committee met ASAP, consulted w/Constitutional experts and urged electors to vote Harding for POTUS and Coolidge for VPOTUS. This was deemed the only way to preserve a difinitive GOP victory in the election and avoid a constitutional crisis. When the electors met in December, Republican electors in New Hampshire decided to vote for Leonard Wood, everyone else voted as per OTL.

1920 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE:

President
Harding (R) 400
Cox (D) 127
Wood (R) 4

Vice President
Coolidge (R) 404
Roosevelt (D) 127

Harding was declared as the winner of the Presidential electoral vote by Congress in Fabruary 1921 and Coolidge the winner of the Vice Presidential electoral vote. Since Harding was dead, Coolidge was sworn in as the 29th POTUS on 3/4/21. There would be no VPOTUS for the whole of his 1st term.
 
The electors are not obligated to vote for the candidate they pledged to support. The party can encourage them to vote for Coolidge (POTUS) and recommend a VP. The position of VP would remain vacant unless the electors voted for one before March 4, 1921.
 
So what would an earlier Calvin Coolidge presidency affect the nation? I admit that I do not know very much about his presidency.
 
The electors are not obligated to vote for the candidate they pledged to support. The party can encourage them to vote for Coolidge (POTUS) and recommend a VP. The position of VP would remain vacant unless the electors voted for one before March 4, 1921.

Correct but too much risk of a fragmented vote for both the presidency and vice presidency. Also, the electors only get one opportunity to vote (December 1920). It's less risky, since Cooolidge would have won the electoral votes in the VP contest (Harding-Coolidge won over 60% of the popular vote and 404 electoral votes in that election, which would not change much, if at all, in TTL) to urge Republican electors to vote for him as VP along with Harding for President. While not obligated to do so, I'd imagine that Republican electors would feel duty bound to cast their VP vote for Coolidge. By urging them to vote for Harding the party ensures that the presidential vote isn't fragmented (risking a Cox victory somehow). This way, Coolidge is elected VPOTUS and a deceased Harding POTUS, and so Coolidge succeeds into the vacant Presidency and the vice presidency remains vacant for 4 years. Also, radio quiz shows (during the subsequent "golden age of radio") have their $10,000 question..."What dead man was elected President of the United States?" (A better Harding legacy that his OTL one.) :D
 

JohnJacques

Banned
Congress would throw out any votes made for Harding, just as they did with Horace Greeley. The Republican National Committee would have to suggest who they throw their votes for and hope for the best.
 
Congress would throw out any votes made for Harding, just as they did with Horace Greeley. The Republican National Committee would have to suggest who they throw their votes for and hope for the best.

According to the Wiki entry on him (yes, I know, wikipedia), there were 3 Georgia votes left blank (and then they state that some sources claim that they were specifically for Greeley and denied by Congress). So, firstly, I'm not sure it's entirely established that Congress threw out those votes, and second, there's a heck of a difference between 3 votes and 400.
 
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