Five things to know if Trump or Biden falls seriously ill

But this close to the election, with early and mail-in voting already underway, “it seems impossible for candidates to come up with a new name to replace a name on the ballot without starting the whole election process over,” argued Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine, on his Election Law Blog. “While things are not certain, what’s most likely that the election would take place on time with the deceased or incapacitated candidate’s name on the ballot,” Hasen wrote.