Some amusingly boneheaded Aussie takes on this here - it was too late to remove the guy from the printed ballot and as a much loved representative people voted for him as a mark of respect. They had to vote for governor and other reps as well, so no, they weren't standing in line for hours just to vote for a dead guy. It was a nice gesture.
Sometimes the yanks aren't as dumb as we like to make out.
Agree, and also, what happens if the dead candidate does not win the election, does the actual winner get elected? I would think so. So if you are living in a solid Republican electorate and you are a Republican voter and think, yeah, I'm not going to turn up because my candidate is dead, and others think the same, and the Democrats win the poll, do they keep the seat? I'm not sure and I suspect in the USA it might depend on which state you are in. But, if the election is conducted properly and a live candidate is elected why would they hold a by-election? Do they hold a by-election if a candidate dies during the campaign period but that candidate was only expected to poll maybe 2% of the vote? If not, how would they distinguish which elections to hold again if a candidate dies?
I do seem to recall a candidate dying in an election here, can't recall what happened, but I think they only hold a by-election if the winning candidate is also the deceased candidate.
This is not as simple as it looks and that is before you consider all the other elections on the same day, you know, like Governor, House Rep, Senator, Mayor, District Attorney, Supreme Court Justices, Dog Catcher, Police Chief etc in the USA (well, in some states and/or counties).
DS