This is a constitutional what-if that I'm not really clear about the (historical) answer to - what happens if the winning candidate dies after all the states have cast their electoral votes (so there isn't the common scenario of a deluge of faithless electors) but before Congress counts and certifies the electoral votes? The 20th Amendment and surrounding legislation suggests that they would still be considered 'President-elect' (i.e. the whole thing would still go to the VP in the end) - but before 1933 I'm unclear on what would happen.
To give a hypothetical example - let's say Calvin Coolidge dies suddenly of coronary thrombosis exactly eight years before he did IOTL, so in January 1925, after the states have voted (overwhelmingly) for him but a month before Congress meets.
On February 11th Congress gets together and Democrats (reasonably) object to the electoral votes being cast for Coolidge for President, on the grounds that he is, well, dead. 'President-elect' isn't even a phrase in the Constitution yet - and the clear precedent from 1872 (when Greeley died) is to count electoral votes for a dead person as invalid (but still part of the overall total).
I'm sure the Republican Congress wouldn't want to invalidate the votes cast for Coolidge, but they really don't seem to have a choice - Coolidge can't have electoral votes cast for him as a dead guy, and there's nothing in the Constitution (pre 20th Amendment) to let them bump up Dawes or any other Republican to take his place.
Assuming Coolidge's votes are still counted in the overall total - the election actually goes to the House, as a choice between John Davis and Robert La Follette, who are the top (valid) candidates with electoral votes. We could get Davis/Dawes or (vaguely plausible) La Follette/Dawes inaugurated.
So is this really how the whole thing would play out? I'm just unsure if there's some procedural or legal dodge the Republicans can use or if (pre-1933 and maybe even post-1933) the winning party is actually just shit-out-of luck if their presidential candidate dies at the wrong time?
To give a hypothetical example - let's say Calvin Coolidge dies suddenly of coronary thrombosis exactly eight years before he did IOTL, so in January 1925, after the states have voted (overwhelmingly) for him but a month before Congress meets.
On February 11th Congress gets together and Democrats (reasonably) object to the electoral votes being cast for Coolidge for President, on the grounds that he is, well, dead. 'President-elect' isn't even a phrase in the Constitution yet - and the clear precedent from 1872 (when Greeley died) is to count electoral votes for a dead person as invalid (but still part of the overall total).
I'm sure the Republican Congress wouldn't want to invalidate the votes cast for Coolidge, but they really don't seem to have a choice - Coolidge can't have electoral votes cast for him as a dead guy, and there's nothing in the Constitution (pre 20th Amendment) to let them bump up Dawes or any other Republican to take his place.
Assuming Coolidge's votes are still counted in the overall total - the election actually goes to the House, as a choice between John Davis and Robert La Follette, who are the top (valid) candidates with electoral votes. We could get Davis/Dawes or (vaguely plausible) La Follette/Dawes inaugurated.
So is this really how the whole thing would play out? I'm just unsure if there's some procedural or legal dodge the Republicans can use or if (pre-1933 and maybe even post-1933) the winning party is actually just shit-out-of luck if their presidential candidate dies at the wrong time?