[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1997 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1997

    To clarify certain matters relating to Presidential succession.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 26, 1996

   Mr. Simon introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To clarify certain matters relating to Presidential succession.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Succession 
Clarification Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS ON THE MEANING OF PRESIDENT-ELECT AND 
              VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT.

    For purposes of the 20th Amendment of the Constitution:
            (1) A candidate for whom a majority of electors have cast 
        their votes for President shall be deemed to be ``President-
        elect'' from the time that the votes are cast, whether or not 
        the candidate is living at the time the votes are counted in 
        Congress.
            (2) A candidate for whom a majority of electors have cast 
        their votes for Vice-President shall be deemed to be ``Vice-
        President-elect'' from the time that the votes are cast, 
        whether or not the candidate is living at the time the votes 
        are counted in Congress.

SEC. 3. TIME OF APPOINTING ELECTORS.

    (a) In General.--The text of section 1 of title 3, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the electors for 
President and Vice President shall be appointed in each State, on the 
Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every fourth year 
succeeding every election of President and Vice President.
    ``(b) If a major party candidate for the office of President dies 
14 or fewer days prior to the date specified in subsection (a), the 
electors of President and Vice President shall be appointed in each 
state 14 days after the death of such candidate.
    ``(c) For purposes of this section, the term `major party' means, 
with respect to a Presidential election, a political party whose 
candidate for office of President in the preceding Presidential 
election received, as a candidate for such party, 25 percent or more of 
the total number of popular votes received by all candidates for such 
office.''.

SEC. 4. TIME OF MEETING OF ELECTORS.

    The text of section 7 of title 3, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the electors of 
President and Vice President of each State shall meet and give their 
votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next 
following their appointment at such place in each State as the 
legislature of such State shall direct.
    ``(b) If a leading candidate for the office of President dies 14 or 
fewer days prior to the date specified in subsection (a), the electors 
of President and Vice President shall meet and give their votes 14 days 
after the death of such candidate.
    ``(c) For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `leading candidate' means--
                    ``(A) with respect to a Presidential election, a 
                candidate for the office of President who, on the basis 
                of the popular votes received by such candidate in the 
                several States, has presumptively won a majority of 
                electoral votes in that election; or
                    ``(B) if there is no such candidate who meets the 
                description in subparagraph (A), any of the three 
                candidates, who, on the basis of the popular vote 
                received by such candidates in the several States, have 
                presumptively won the three highest totals of electoral 
                votes; and
            ``(2) a candidate has `presumptively won' an electoral vote 
        when that candidate receives a plurality or more of the popular 
        vote in the district or state represented by the elector.''.

SEC. 5. DEATH OF A CANDIDATE PRIOR TO CONSIDERATION BY THE HOUSE OF 
              REPRESENTATIVES OR THE SENATE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is 
amended by adding after section 18 the following:
``Sec. 18A. Death of a candidate
    ``(a) In the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the 
House of Representatives may choose a President after the right of 
choice has devolved upon them, the House of Representatives may 
consider the designated running mate of the deceased candidate as the 
candidate's replacement for purposes of choosing a President.
    ``(b) In the case of the death of any candidate from whom the 
Senate may choose the Vice-President after the right of choice has 
devolved upon them, the Senate may consider a candidate designated by 
the deceased candidate's political party as the candidate's replacement 
for purposes of choosing a Vice-President.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for chapter 1 of 
title 3, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item for 
section 18 the following:

``18A. Death of a candidate.''.
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