North Dakota elects coronavirus victim to state legislature

While the case may seem strange, it's far from unprecedented. In fact, multiple deceased individuals have been elected to serve in public office, including state legislatures and even Congress.

By AARON REICH
People cast their ballots during early voting for the upcoming presidential elections inside of The Atlanta Hawks' State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, US, October 12, 2020 (photo credit: CHRIS ALUKA BERRY/ REUTERS)
People cast their ballots during early voting for the upcoming presidential elections inside of The Atlanta Hawks' State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, US, October 12, 2020
(photo credit: CHRIS ALUKA BERRY/ REUTERS)
North Dakota may have elected a dead man to the state's House of Representatives, CNN reported.
Republican candidate David Andahl is a businessman and rancher in the state, and is currently projected to win one of the two states for North Dakota's 8th district, having received 35.53% of the votes based on unofficial results.
The only problem is that he's dead.
The 55-year-old Andahl died back on October 5 after losing his battle with the coronavirus, but his name stayed on the ballot as early voting had already started. His family announced his death on Facebook the following day.
"Our beloved son David passed away yesterday after a short battle with COVID-19," the statement read.
"He was very cautious especially because he did have a few health challenges, but he was unable to fend off this disease. We are heartbroken, and we ask that he be remembered not by how he died, but by how he lived."
His death prompted questions at the time of what would happen should he actually win in November. A week later, however, the North Dakota attorney-general issued an official ruling, stating that the district's Republican Party would be obligated to find a replacement to appoint to his seat.
While the case may seem strange, it's far from unprecedented. In fact, multiple deceased individuals have been elected to serve in public office, including state legislatures and even the US Congress. These include Alaskan representative Nick Begich, who was reelected in 1972 despite having disappeared following a plane crash alongside his fellow congressman Hale Boggs, who also won reelection. Begich was later replaced in a special election by Don Young, who still holds the seat to this day and is currently the longest-serving member of Congress.
This isn't expected to change now, with current projections seeing Young holding a solid lead over his Democratic rival in the current elections, according to the Associated Press.