State laws and party rules on replacing a presidential nominee, 2024

2024 Presidential Election Date: November 5, 2024

Presidential candidates

Kamala Harris (D) Donald Trump (R) (won) Jill Stein (G) Chase Oliver (L)

Battleground states • List of registered candidates • Electoral College • Prediction markets • Presidential debates • Important dates • Presidential election by state • Campaign finance • Logos and slogans • Key staffers • Vice presidential candidates • Policy positions • Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage index

Primaries

Democratic • Republican • Green • Libertarian

Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage 2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016

The Democratic and Republican parties have their own processes for replacing a presidential or vice presidential nominee. Each state also has its own process and deadline for ballot certification and printing. Given these deadlines, parties must also consider the election calendar if they seek to replace a candidate.

On July 21, 2024, Joe Biden (D) withdrew from the presidential race. His came after a number of U.S. House members and commentators publicly said President Joe Biden (D) should withdraw from the 2024 presidential race following the first 2024 presidential debate. Biden initially responded to the calls for him to withdraw in a letter to House Democrats on July 8, where he said he would continue running. Click here to read answers to frequently asked questions surrounding Biden's presidential campaign.

Three main phases of a presidential election determine which party rules, state laws, and federal laws come into play when attempting to replace a presidential candidate. The first phase takes place before a party's national nominating convention. In 2024, the Democratic National Convention took place from August 19-22, and the Republican National Convention took place from July 15-18. While neither party's nominee is official until delegates elect a candidate at the national convention, there are party rules and state laws that come into play if a party seeks to replace its presumptive nominee.

The second phase takes place between the parties' national nominating conventions and the general election, which took place on November 5, 2024. It is rare for a candidate to drop out of the race between his or her formal nomination at a national convention and the general election. The last time a party replaced a candidate was 1972, when Democratic vice presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton withdrew after details about his mental health treatment were publicized.

The third phase takes place between the general election and the presidential inauguration, which took place on January 20, 2025. A president-elect has never withdrawn, died, or become incapacitated during this stage of an election. In 1872, Horace Greeley, who lost to Ulysses S. Grant in the general election, died between the election and the counting of electoral votes. Electors initially allocated to Greeley voted for a variety of candidates, including Greeley.

This page provides an overview of:

• Replacing a presumptive nominee before the Democratic National Convention (August 19-22, 2024) or the Republican National Convention (July 15-18, 2024)
• Replacing a nominee between the Democratic (August 19-22, 2024) or Republican (July 15-18, 2024) national convention and the election (November 5, 2024)
• Replacing a president-elect between the election (November 5, 2024) and inauguration (January 20, 2025)

Replacing a presumptive nominee before the national convention

See also: Democratic delegate rules, 2024, Republican delegate rules, 2024, and What happens if Joe Biden drops out or is replaced as the 2024 Democratic Party presidential nominee

The Democratic and Republican parties do not formally nominate candidates until delegates vote at the party's national convention. The Democratic National Convention took place from August 19-22, 2024, and the Republican National Convention took place from July 15-18, 2024.

A party's presumptive nominee, meaning the candidate who receives an estimated majority of delegates after state nominating events, could be replaced at the convention. Delegates could elect a candidate who they were not initially bound to at the time of their state's election. Both state law and party rules govern how a delegate must vote at the national convention, including whether a delegate remains bound to a withdrawn candidate and for how many rounds a delegate remains bound to a candidate.

Both parties also have delegates who are not bound to a particular candidate at the convention. The Republican Party has a total of 104 unbound delegates, and the Democratic Party has a total of 739 unbound delegates. Democratic unbound delegates can only vote if a convention proceeds past the first round of voting.

Replacing a nominee between the national convention and the election

Both the Democratic and Republican parties have rules governing how to replace a presidential or vice presidential nominee between the party's nominating convention and the November 5, 2024, general election. The section below provides each party's rules on that subject.

It is important to note, however, that states require political parties to submit names of presidential and vice presidential nominees and presidential electors before election day in order to certify them for the general election ballot. Deadlines vary by state and depend on the election calendar, including early voting, voting by mail, and absentee voting considerations.

Democratic Party rules governing vacancies

See also: Democratic presidential nomination, 2024

Under Article 2 of The Bylaws of the Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has the responsibility to fill vacancies in presidential and vice presidential nominations between national conventions.

In the event of a vacancy on the national ticket, the chairperson would call a special meeting. Under Article 2 § 8(d), questions before the DNC, with some exceptions otherwise outlined in the charter and bylaws, are determined by a majority vote of the DNC members who are present and voting by proxy. The bylaws also state that voting to fill a vacancy on the national ticket must proceed in accordance with procedural rules adopted by the Rules and Bylaws Committee and approved by the DNC.

Republican Party rules governing vacancies

See also: Republican presidential nomination, 2024

Rule 9 of The Rules of the Republican Party provides guidance on how to fill presidential and vice presidential vacancies.

It says that the Republican National Committee (RNC) is authorized to select a new candidate by majority vote or by reconvening the national convention to fill the vacancy. In the former process, the three RNC members from each state—comprised of a state chair, a national committeeman, and a national committeewoman—would be able to cast the same number of votes as the entire delegation from that state to the convention. Under Rule 9(c), if the three RNC members did not all support the same candidate, their votes would be proportionately distributed. For example, each RNC member would cast 13 of Kansas' 39 delegate votes.

Ballot access and vacancies for presidential candidates

See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

States require political parties to submit names of presidential and vice presidential nominees and presidential electors in order to certify them for the general election ballot. Deadlines vary by state and are dependent on the election calendar, including early voting, voting by mail, and absentee voting considerations.

Nearly half of the states have a deadline in August, and most require certification or identification of a candidate to fill a vacancy no later than September 6. Replacing a candidate's name on the ballot in September, therefore, becomes increasingly difficult as many states will have already printed ballots or begun to allow voters to cast ballots.

It is possible for parties and election authorities to change or work around these deadlines. For instance, in 2020, the Republican National Convention took place after the deadlines in Alabama and Ohio. In Ohio, the state legislature passed a law to change the deadline that cycle so it took place after the Republican National Convention, and in Alabama, the state's election authority accepted a placeholder letter from the RNC that said the party would certify a nominee once the official nomination took place.

The following chart provides deadlines related to certifying presidential nominees or submitting a replacement presidential candidate, where available. These deadlines and notes were compiled by reviewing relevant state statutes and other government documents. All such information is subject to interpretation.