A Republican candidate in North Dakota has benefited from one of the United States' strangest electoral traditions - electing dead people.
David Andahl, 55, died of COVID-19 a month ago, US media reported. But that didn't stop him being elected as one of two state representatives in the state's eighth district.
"He was very cautious especially because he did have a few health challenges, but he was unable to fend off this disease," his family wrote on Facebook on October 7, two days after Andahl died.
Cases of the virus in North Dakota have been increasing steadily since July, but really started to take off in early October.
Despite his party's leader Donald Trump leading one of the worst responses to the pandemic in the world, North Dakota voters overwhelmingly backed him for re-election - giving Trump three of the 270 electoral votes he needs to stay in power. A Republican Party representative said after his death it was too late to replace him on the ballot.
According to his obituary, Andahl was "was passionate about farming and ranching, his home state, and the quality of life of its people".
"He has been a public servant for many years and was looking forward to the opportunity to serve in the state legislature," his family said. "We are sad that his wish will not come to pass."
There's nothing in North Dakota law which dictates what happens when a dead person is elected, the Washington Post reported. The state's attorney-general says the Republican Party will be allowed to fill the seat with someone else until a special election can be held.
Andahl is one of 573 North Dakotans to have died of COVID-19 so far, a toll that's rising exponentially. Trump himself confirmed he'd contracted the disease just two days before Andahl's death, but appears to have recovered.
Not the first dead man elected
There have been a number of dead people elected in US history, and it's becoming increasingly frequent. The most recent was Dennis Hof, a pimp who died in 2018 after throwing a wild party for his 72nd birthday and was elected to the Nevada Assembly a few weeks later.
In 2000, a man was elected to teh Missouri Senate weeks after dying in a plane crash, in 2002 a House representative from Hawaii was re-elected after dying of pneumonia, 2008 saw a Pennsylvania Senator re-elected after dying in a car crash, 2010 a California woman made a Senator after dying of cancer, and in 2012 Texas elected a man to the Senate despite the fact he'd died of liver disease.
The Washington Post in 2014 said there were no recorded cases in the US of people dying during an election campaign and losing.
"Dead people appear to be batting 1.000 in their Congressional races. Nonetheless, we do not recommend it as a campaign strategy," wrote correspondent Philip Bump.
