Page "Electoral College (United States)" Paragraph 28

The Constitution grants each state the right to appoint electors in a manner chosen by that state.

While it is common to think of the electoral votes impersonally, as mere numbers, the Electoral College is in fact made up of real people ( usually party regulars of the party whose candidate wins each state ) with the capacity to adapt to unusual situations.

That capacity might be particularly important if, for example, a candidate were to die or become in some other way legally disabled or disqualified to serve as President or Vice President.

Advocates of the current system argue that these electors could then choose a suitable replacement ( who would most likely come from the same party of the candidate who won the election ) more competently than could the general voting public.

Furthermore, the time period during which such a death or the onset of such a legal disability or disqualification might call for such an adaptation extends, under the Electoral College system, from before Election Day ( many states cannot change ballots at a late stage ) until the day the electors vote ( the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December ).