The re-election campaign of President Joe Biden seems to be on the verge of finding its candidate’s name off the ballot in a key battleground state.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, is warning that the Democrats have not followed the law for filing dates to get Biden’s name on the Buckeye State’s general election ballots.
Ohio is considered one of the important battleground states that a candidate must win this fall to take the White House.
Yost has pointed out that the filing deadline in his state is set at 90 days before the general election, but the Democratic National Convention where Biden will be handed his party’s nomination is not scheduled until after that date.
“There’s a law that’s been in place that applies to all candidates, regardless of the power, the office they’re running for or the party they’re running for,” the attorney general told Fox News.
“The ballot deadline is 90 days before the election,” Yost continued. “That’s to allow adequate time for the preparation and proofreading of the ballot and to get the machines loaded. That takes time. You don’t do it overnight.
“It’s the same rule for everybody. The Democrats scheduled their convention to nominate Joe Biden after that deadline, and that creates a problem.”
With the deadline for presidential candidates to file in Ohio set at 90 days before Election Day on Nov. 5, they would have to have their filing to appear on Ohio’s ballot before Aug. 7. But the Democrats’ convention doesn’t start until Aug. 19, and Biden won’t be confirmed as the party’s nominee until the last day of the event on Aug. 22.
Still, Yost said there is plenty of time to work out a solution.
Will Biden win re-election?
“They’ve got several months to figure this out. I fully expect them to figure out a way to get their candidate on the ballot. After all, he’s one of the two major candidates. He’s an incumbent president. But, on my watch, they’re going to do it by the law,” he said.
The attorney general has dismissed one proposed solution.
Fox News reported Wednesday that Yost shot down an idea proffered by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose that the Democrat Party could supply the state with a provisional letter of nomination based on the idea that Biden has satisfied the number of pledged delegates ahead of the convention
LaRose, a Republican, contended the letter could serve as the official filing because Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “have secured the pledged delegates necessary to become the party’s nominees.”
But Yost disagreed.
“The Democratic Party’s notion of providing a ‘provisional certification’ by the statutory deadline simply is not provided for by law,” his office explained. “Instead, the law mandates the Democratic Party to actually certify its president and vice-president candidates on or before August 7, 2024. No alternative process is permitted.
“Thus, the Secretary of State lacks authority to accept ‘provisional certifications’ from the Democratic Party pursuant to [the law]. The Democratic Party must actually certify its presidential candidates on or before August 7, 2024 to be placed on the 2024 General Election ballot.”
A similar situation exists in Alabama. Its Republican secretary of state, Wes Allen, told The Associated Press that his office will not accept a provisional letter of nomination for his state’s filing deadline, which, like Ohio’s, is before the Democratic National Convention.
“I’m not denying anybody. I’m just telling them what the law is,” Allen said. “I took an oath to uphold Alabama law, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
