--- title: How Republicans Could Replace Donald Trump If He Steps Down description: It's too late to scrub his name from all ballots canonical: https://time.com/4523892/donald-trump-republican-nominee-step-down/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-08T14:56:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:49:57.978Z article:section: Politics og:title: How Republicans Could Replace Donald Trump If He Steps Down og:description: It's too late to scrub his name from all ballots og:url: https://time.com/4523892/donald-trump-republican-nominee-step-down/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt026d5fb3d8066cf7/6988a875ab6d7774e06ab6e6/donald-trump-campaign-stop.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pauses before answering questions at the "Retired American Warriors" conference during a campaign stop in Herndon og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Republicans Could Replace Donald Trump If He Steps Down twitter:description: It's too late to scrub his name from all ballots twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt026d5fb3d8066cf7/6988a875ab6d7774e06ab6e6/donald-trump-campaign-stop.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Republicans Could Replace Donald Trump If He Steps Down > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=dba72520-afbf-459c-8f55-6a6378408cdd&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump's Facebook Statement [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump's Facebook Statement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MLqKZLTC.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2016-10-08. The bombshell dropped on the Washington Post’s website : a video of Donald Trump, in 2005, using extremely vulgar language to describe women, detailing his attempt to bed a married woman and bragging that he can grope women because he is a celebrity._ by [Zeke J. Miller/Milwaukee, Wisc.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J. Miller/Milwaukee, Wisc. Oct 8, 2016 2:56 PM UTC The bombshell dropped on the Washington Post’s website : a video of Donald Trump, in 2005, using extremely vulgar language to describe women, detailing his attempt to bed a married woman and bragging that he can grope women because he is a celebrity. by [Zeke J. Miller/Milwaukee, Wisc.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J. Miller/Milwaukee, Wisc. Oct 8, 2016 2:56 PM UTC Utah Sen. Mike Lee, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk were just some of the [Republicans](http://time.com/4523757/donald-trump-women-comments-lewd/) who called on Donald Trump to give up the nomination after viewing video footage showing the Republican nominee joking of his ability to sexually grope women without repercussion. But their statements were requests, not commandments. Donald Trump, in the end, has the power to decide whether he remains the Republican nominee. He has been publicly condemned over the last 24 hours by party’s chairman, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority leader and hundreds of other elected officials. But the ball remains in his court. Under Republican Party rules, the Republican National Committee is empowered to fill vacancies that occur “by reason of death, declination, or otherwise,” with the 168 members of the committee voting for a replacement. There is no established procedure to remove a nominee unwillingly. The meeting to replace the nominee would need to be called with at least five days notice, and each state’s delegation would cast the same number of votes it was allotted at the convention in July for the replacement nominee. Trump’s running-mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, would be the obvious replacement, but others could also throw their hat into the ring. The Democratic Party has done this before. A few months before the 1972 presidential election, Democratic nominee George McGovern discovered that his vice presidential nominee had had multiple bouts of depression and related hospitalization. Fearing Thomas Eagleton would hurt the ticket’s chance in November, The Democratic Party replaced him with a former ambassador, Sargent Shriver. Even if Trump were to step aside voluntarily, his name would remain on ballots in most states—and millions of people may have already voted for him. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires that states distribute ballots at least 45 days before a federal election, while early voting is underway in states like Iowa, Virginia, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Replacing his name on ballots that have yet to be distributed is also problematic—and perhaps insurmountable. “To answer question I’ve been getting–No, Trump cannot drop out & be replaced on ballot. UOCAVA ballots are out, early voting has begun,” [tweeted](https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/784565821242761216) Marc Elias, the Democratic campaign lawyer and general counsel to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. In Colorado, for example, nominees’ names must be submitted to the state elected officials sixty days before election day, or on September 9\. In Iowa, it’s 81 days before the election—that was August 19\. In Ohio, it’s a full 90 days ahead of election day. Historically there has been some leeway in the way the limits are applied. The New Jersey nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2002, Sen. Robert Torricelli, was accused of ethics violations and withdrew from the race 36 days before election day—15 days past the statutory deadline. Republicans objected to replacing him with another Democrat, Frank Lautenberg, but the New Jersey courts approved Lautenberg’s name on the ticket. In 1990 a Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate was replaced on his state’s ballot little more than a week before election day. “This would be a gray area and there could be litigation,” said Kay Stimson, director of communications at the National Association of Secretaries of State. For states where the ballots can still be changed, the question of whether to make a late switch would likely be subject of litigation. Then there are the complications peculiar to a presidential race. Under the U.S. Constitution, a vote for a candidate goes to electors in byzantine Electoral College. In many states, those electors have some power to decide how they cast their ballots when the Electoral College meets in December. But at least 25 states and the District of Columbia have laws binding electors to vote based on the outcome of the Nov. 8 general election. In some states they are only bound to vote the party nominee—meaning they could vote for the replacement. But in states like Michigan, they are bound to the candidate listed on the ballot. In any event, Trump’s withdrawal would set the GOP and the nation down an uncertain path, likely ending in the court room as various state statutes are litigate by both parties.“It points out the fragility of our election system and the lack of ability to deal with these kinds of issues,” Rick Hasen, a professor at University of California’s Irvine School of Law, told TIME. No major party presidential candidate has ever been replaced after securing the presidential nomination. Additional reporting by Sam Frizell/Washington ## Transcript I've never said I'm a perfect person nor pretended to be someone that I'm not. I've said and done things I regret and the words released today, on this more than a decade old video, are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it. I was wrong and I apologize. I've traveled the country talking about change for America but my travels have also changed me. I've spent time with grieving mothers who've lost their children, laid off workers whose jobs have gone to other countries, and people from all walks of life who just want a better future. I have gotten to know the great people of our country and I've been humbled by the faith they placed in me. I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never ever let you down. Let's be honest we're living in the real world. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we are facing today. We are losing our jobs. We are less safe than we were eight years ago and Washington is totally broken. Hillary Clinton and her kind have run our country into the ground. I've said some foolish things but there is a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday. 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