Ohio Sec of State warns Biden won’t appear on November ballot unless DNC acts

Ohio's Secretary of State has warned that Biden may not be on Ohio’s ballot come November if the Democratic National Committee does not move its convention date, as Biden would be officially nominated just 75 days before the election, not 90 days as required by Ohio state law.

According to the Ohio Capital Journal, Ohio law states that political parties must certify their candidates with the Secretary of State "on or before" 90 days prior to any election. With the 2024 presidential election taking place on November 5, Biden being named the official candidate of the Democrat party won’t happen until August 22 at the Democrat National Convention, 75 days out from the election.

In a letter to Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters, Secretary of State Frank LaRose noted that he had sent a letter in April offering "two possible remedies" to remedy the conflict in dates.

These changes were "a change in date by which your party formally nominates a presidential candidate or action by the Ohio General Assembly to create an exception to this statutory requirement."

"Today, the Speaker of the Ohio House told members of the media there would not be a legislative solution, as there is 'just not the will to do that from the Legislature,'" LaRose wrote.

"With a legislative remedy taken off the table, I must remind you that the deadline is fast approaching, and the matter remains unsolved. Unless your party plans to comply with the statutory deadline, I am duty-bound to instruct boards of elections to begin preparing ballots that do not include the Democratic Party’s nominees for the president and vice president of the United States."

LaRose said this was "not an action I wish to take," but added that "the Ohio House of Representatives has refused to act, and the Democratic Party has so far offered no legally acceptable remedy."

Ohio lawmakers have stated that the fix for this issue won’t happen through the legislature.

Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens said, "There’s just not the will to do that from the legislature."

"We’ve seen the dysfunction here in this place," said Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo. "And I think we’ve seen that folks have not been able to put aside partisanship and hyper-partisanship and infighting. … I think at this point, you’re probably going to see either, you know, some sort of inner party effects or perhaps court action."

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has said that the fix will happen either in the court or in the legislature.

"I have every confidence that it’s going to get done. No one should worry, they’re going to be able to vote for the president or the former president, whoever they want to vote for. You know, this is not going to be a situation where the president’s name is not on the ballot. So it’s either going to be done by the court, or it’s going to be done by the legislature," DeWine said on Tuesday.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, both the Ohio Senate and House had separate proposals to fix the issue, but neither advanced the proposals when the legislature was last in session on May 8.

Biden’s campaign has stated that it is confident he will be on the ballot.

"Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states," said Charles Lutvak, spokesperson for the Biden campaign. "Election after election, states across the country have acted in line with the bipartisan consensus and taken the necessary steps to ensure the presidential nominees from both parties will be on the ballot."