Biden could miss the November voting deadline in Ohio, the state’s elections office says
Election 2024
John Seewer and Marc LevyApril 8, 2024
President Biden could be left out of the Ohio vote in the case unless the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature makes an exception to the voting deadline or the Democratic Party moves up its convention, the agency that oversees the elections said in the state.
Ohio’s deadline to certify presidential candidates for the general election is Aug. 7, nearly two weeks before the Democratic National Convention, where Biden is expected to be nominated to face Republican challenger Donald Trump.
Ohio law requires presidential candidates to be certified 90 days before the general election, which takes place on November 5 this year, according to a letter written last week by Paul DiSantis, chief legal counsel to Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose .
If you have any information that can assure this office of timely compliance with Ohio law, please contact me as soon as possible, the letter said.
The Biden campaign said Monday that it does not expect the issue to keep the president from voting.
‘If I don’t get elected, it will be a bloodbath’: Trump campaign downplays comments
We are monitoring the situation in Ohio and are confident that Joe Biden will participate in the vote in all fifty states, the campaign said in a statement.
A similar situation occurred before the 2020 presidential election. In that case, both the Republican and Democratic conventions were scheduled outside the deadline, so Ohio lawmakers approved changing the deadline to 60 days, but only for those elections.
The letter to Liz Walters, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, said the Legislature would have to take action by May 9 to make an exception to the 90-day deadline, or Democrats would have to move up their convention , which seems unlikely.
Messages seeking comment were left with Walters and the state party
on
Monday.
Trump won Ohio in 2016 on his way to the White House and won it again in 2020 when he lost to Biden, becoming the first losing presidential candidate to have supported Ohio since siding with Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy in 1960 .
Seewer and Levy write for the Associated Press. Levy reported from Harrisburg, Penn.
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.