as donald trump <u+2019>s most vocal critics within his own party increasingly call for him to relinquish the republican presidential nomination, they are faced with the harsh reality that voting has already started in many states. while the<u+00a0>nov. 8<u+00a0>election day is still one month away, vote-by-mail and absentee programs have already started in several states, including florida, north carolina and virginia, three of the nation<u+2019>s largest presidential battlegrounds. across the country, more than 400,000 voters have already cast ballots in 18 states, according to electionproject.org, a website run by university of florida political science professor michael mcdonald that tracks early voting. the party could convene and choose a new nominee if mr. trump quit, said ben ginsberg, a former republican national committee attorney. but in several of the battleground states, the deadlines have already passed for reprinting ballots. <u+201c>the deadline in virtually all the states has passed for replacing a name on the ballot,<u+201d> ginsberg said. <u+201c>you<u+2019>d potentially have to litigate state by state to get the name changed on the ballot, or figure out a way to write it in each different state.<u+201d> adding to the complications are varying state laws regarding the electoral college. some states, for example, require electoral votes to be cast only for the candidate who gets the most support, meaning that could be mr. trump even if he quit the race, mr. ginsberg said. <u+201c>given how close the margins could be nationally, it<u+2019>s tough to take a lot of comfort that you could fix this situation,<u+201d> mr. ginsberg said. mr. trump told the wall street journal on saturday morning that there<u+2019>s <u+201c>zero chance i<u+2019>ll quit<u+201d> and the <u+201c>support i<u+2019>m getting is unbelievable.<u+201d> but calls for him to do just that have mounted following the publication of a decade-old video<u+00a0>on friday<u+00a0>in which he talked about kissing and grabbing women without their consent. two republican lawmakers who hadn<u+2019>t supported mr. trump<u+2014>sen. mark kirk of illinois and rep. mike coffman of colorado<u+2014>called on him to quit the race. so did rob engstrom, the political director for the u.s. chamber of commerce. <u+201c>there is no gop nominee for president in 2016,<u+201d> mr. engstrom posted on twitter . <u+201c>fundamentally offensive and unqualified.<u+201d> meanwhile, mr. trump<u+2019>s running mate, indiana gov. mike pence, released a statement declaring himself <u+201c>offended<u+201d> by the lewd remarks mr. trump was recorded saying. <u+201c>i do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them,<u+201d> mr. pence said. <u+201c>i am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the american people. we pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night.<u+201d> <u+201c>certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!<u+201d> mr. trump posted on twitter<u+00a0>on saturday<u+00a0>morning. the new york businessman dismissed the video as <u+201c>locker-room banter<u+201d> and, in a video statement released on his facebook page after<u+00a0>midnight<u+00a0>on saturday, apologized for his language. still, mr. trump was defiant in his facebook apology, vowing to attack his democratic rival, hillary clinton, over the infidelity of her husband, former president bill clinton. sen. kelly ayotte (r. n.h.), who is in one of this year<u+2019>s toughest re-election contests, said in a twitter message that she is withdrawing her support for mr. trump. she said she would instead write in mr. trump<u+2019>s running mate, indiana gov. mike pence. other republican senate candidates who have backed mr. trump were considering pulling their support<u+00a0>on saturday, according to a republican with knowledge of the deliberations and who requested anonymity to speak about the private discussions. others were waiting to see the results of the second debate between mr. trump and mrs. clinton, scheduled for<u+00a0>sunday<u+00a0>in st. louis. mr. trump isn<u+2019>t expected to speak publicly<u+00a0>on saturday, a campaign aide said. he was scheduled to campaign<u+00a0>for the first time with house speaker paul ryan, the republican party<u+2019>s top elected official. but ryan released a statement<u+00a0>on friday<u+00a0>saying he was <u+201c>sickened<u+201d> by mr. trump<u+2019>s remarks about women and uninvited the nominee to a fall festival in his home state of wisconsin. in the 2005 recording, mr. trump said: <u+201c>you know i<u+2019>m automatically attracted to beautiful women<u+2014>i just start kissing them. it<u+2019>s like a magnet. just kiss. i don<u+2019>t even wait.<u+2026> <u+201c>and when you<u+2019>re a star, they let you do it. you can do anything.<u+2026>grab them by the pussy. you can do anything,<u+201d> mr. trump added. mr. trump also referred to a married woman whom he said he tried to seduce: <u+201c>i moved on her and i failed. i<u+2019>ll admit it. i did try and f<u+2014>her.<u+2026><u+201d> randy evans, an rnc member from georgia, said party rules make it nearly impossible to remove mr. trump if he was unwilling to step down. he said the presidential debate<u+00a0>on sunday<u+00a0>would help party leaders decide on what direction to take. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re at a pivotal moment in the race,<u+201d> mr. evans said. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s no question<u+00a0>tomorrow<u+00a0>will tell us a lot. it will be a pivotal moment for the rnc operations, individual candidates and campaigns to make decisions.<u+201d> the rnc has few options to unseat mr. trump as the party<u+2019>s nominee. but the rnc could move to seek a public separation from mr. trump. the party<u+2019>s rules state that if 16 of 168 rnc members from 16 different states sign a petition demanding a meeting, chairman reince priebus is obligated to convene one. the party couldn<u+2019>t replace mr. trump at such a meeting, republican attorneys with experience dealing with the party said saturday, but the event itself would embarrass mr. trump and allow the rnc an opportunity to separate itself from its nominee. mr. trump<u+2019>s remaining supporters spent saturday lamenting his language in the video and denouncing fellow republicans who have abandoned his campaign. <u+201c>i am very unhappy this morning because it seems like vultures are circling and it makes me unhappy for our party and for our country,<u+201d> said demetra demonte, the republican national committeewoman from illinois. <u+201c>why is it that we republicans eat our own when something bad comes out, we just eat our own.<u+201d> ms. demonte backed mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign during the primary and has been among his most vocal supporters through the summer and fall. she pledged to block any effort to unseat mr. trump as the party<u+2019>s nominee. <u+201c>as a member of the rnc, i will never vote to unseat donald trump, he won this fair and square,<u+201d> she said. <u+2014>reid j. epstein contributed to this article. corrections & amplifications: mr. trump told the wall street journal on saturday morning that there<u+2019>s <u+201c>zero chance i<u+2019>ll quit<u+201d> and the <u+201c>support i<u+2019>m getting is unbelievable.<u+201d> an earlier version of this article incorrectly quoted mr. trump. write to michael c. bender at mike.bender@wsj.com
any potential changes to gop ballot would face hurdles      - wsj
michael c. bender