Ohio and Alabama — both GOP-run states — are saying they might not allow Biden on the ballot this November.
It all comes down to deadlines that fall before Biden is officially nominated, and both Ohio and Alabama officials say Biden could be too late.
Alabama’s Secretary of State Wes Allen wrote a letter on Tuesday to the chair of the Alabama Democratic Party warning him that if the party doesn’t officially certify Biden as its presidential candidate by August 15th, then the president will not be allowed on the November ballot.
That’s because, Allen writes, the state of Alabama requires political parties to provide their certificate of nomination no later than 82 days before the election, which is set for November 5.
Biden has already secured enough delegates to win the 2024 nomination.
But the Democratic National Convention — where Biden would get the formal nod — is scheduled to begin four days after that deadline, on August 19th.
The same issue arose in 2020 when the Republican National Convention, where Trump was officially nominated, happened after Alabama’s deadline. But Trump was still allowed on the ballot that year because the state’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a special bill making a one-time exception to its deadline.
Alabama could do the same thing again this year for the Democrats — if it wanted to. The Alabama Secretary of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The state of Ohio, run by GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, has also flagged that the Democratic convention is happening after Ohio’s own August 7 deadline.
Like Alabama, Ohio requires political parties to give their official nominations before the deadline if they want to appear on the ballot. And ahead of the 2020 election, the state also made a one-time exception to that rule because both the DNC and RNC that year were scheduled for after the deadline, a spokesperson for the Ohio Secretary of State confirmed to BI.
“This law has been on the books for many years,” Ben Kindel, a spokesperson for the Ohio Secretary of State, told BI. “Ultimately, both political parties have well-paid attorneys who are capable of advising them on the legal requirements for ballot access.”
“Each party sets their own bylaws, organizes a national convention, and establishes rules for certifying candidates to the ballot,” Kindel continued. “Our office is not involved in that process.”
Paul DiSantis, the chief legal counsel to the Ohio Secretary of State, wrote a letter to Ohio’s Democratic Party Chair last week. In it, he says that in order for Biden to appear on the ballot, the DNC either needs to move up the date of its convention, or the state’s General Assembly has until May 9 to grant another exception to the deadline.
The Biden campaign insisted it’s not worried.
“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states,” a spokesperson for the Biden campaign said in a statement shared with BI. “State officials have the ability to grant provisional ballot access certification prior to the conclusion of presidential nominating conventions.”
“In 2020 alone,” the statement continues, “states like Alabama, Illinois, Montana, and Washington all allowed provisional certification for Democratic and Republican nominees.”
While Alabama is a deep-red state, Ohio is much more competitive, though it has trended more Republican-leaning in recent years.
