Um ... this is a good technical argument, but it does not address
the basic premise that what the voters wants is what the voters
should get.  There is no question what the voter wants.  They
knew ahead of time that they would be voting for a dead man's wife.
The appointment may be technically flawed, but for a judge to throw
this out would require finding a serious problem.  Technicality is
probably not a serious enough problem to go against the electorate.

Ern

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Burnes [mailto:jburnes@savvis.net]
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2000 9:13 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: A very brief politcal rant

On Wed, 08 Nov 2000, William H. Geiger III wrote:
> In <973697805.3a09730d4e448@webmail.cotse.com>, on 11/08/00
>
>    at 09:36 AM, brflgnk@cotse.com said:
> >If the citizens of Missouri chose to elect a deceased person as Senator,
> >I think  that's exactly what they should get.  Leave the seat empty for
> >two years.
>
> Someone had brought up the Constitutionality of having a dead man on the
> ballot. The reasoning was that the deceased are no longer legally citizens
> and therefore do not meet the Constitutional requirements for office.

Even more significant is that a dead man cannot take the oath of office.

If he can't take the oath of office he can't occupy the office.  The
governor only has the power to replace a senatoratorial position if
the current office holder dies.

Since Carnahan died before he took office, the office remains unfilled.  The
governor does not have power to appoint senators willy-nilly. The office must
be held before it can be filled.  The correct solution would be to hold a
special election so that the public has a chance to know who they are voting
into office.  What the democrats are afraid of is that his wife might be
less fit to hold that office than her husband in some democrat's minds
(after debates etc).

Here is a question?  Would it be vote fraud to run one person's name on the
ballot and replace him with someone else when he won?

jim

--
Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of
himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we
found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this
question.       -- Thomas Jefferson, 1st Inaugural