(The Center Square) – Election laws in seven battleground states would allow Democrats to put Vice President Kamala Harris’ name, or another candidate (if one is currently in office), on the ballot.
Republicans are planning legal challenges as supporters of President Joe Biden rally around Harris in an attempt to unseat the party’s nominee.
Biden announced his decision via social media on Sunday afternoon, one month before the Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Chicago from August 19-22.
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada are commonly referred to as battleground states. These states have a combined 93 electoral votes.
No opposition to Harris has emerged since her social media announcement on Sunday, and Democratic delegates across the country have moved quickly to match their support from a primary season in which voters pledged Biden a healthy number of delegates.
Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the North Carolina State Election Commission, said state law will address the change.
“County Election Commission [in North Carolina] “Beginning September 6th, we will begin sending out absentee ballots to voters who request them, which I believe is the earliest in the country,” Gannon said in an email to The Center Square.
He said North Carolina’s ballot will be prepared once the party conventions are held and candidates are nominated.
“Typically, officials want the names of candidates to be known by mid-August to allow enough time to prepare, proofread and print the ballots before the Sept. 6 deadline for distributing absentee ballots. That should be in time for the Democratic National Convention schedule, especially since we know that all ballots will have the Democratic Party platform on them, so we’re just waiting for the names to be written in before the ballots are printed,” he said.
North Carolina, which has 16 electoral votes, has been won by Republicans in all but two of the last 14 elections.
The conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, Biden Drop out.
Senior communications manager Margaret Bowling said in an email to The Center Square that the team is “withholding media requests for now,” but that more requests may come in from the Heritage Foundation’s monitoring project.
“We have been preparing for this moment for months. Many in the media have tried to discredit us. Who’s laughing now? No more ‘kick-ass’ elections. Stay tuned…” The monitoring project He released a statement on social media following Biden’s announcement.
Because Biden withdrew before becoming the Democratic nominee, choosing a successor will be easier than it would be after the Democratic National Convention.
Pennsylvania is a battleground state with the most electoral votes (19), so there’s no problem with new candidates being placed on the ballot, according to Matt Heckel, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State.
“Under Pennsylvania election law, the presidential and vice presidential candidates selected at the Democratic National Convention will appear on the general election ballot as the Democratic Party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates,” Heckel said in an email to The Center Square. “Because the 2024 Democratic National Convention has not yet been held, no candidates have been selected to appear on the November ballot.”
Similarly, in Wisconsin, the Democratic Party must notify the Wisconsin State Board of Elections of its presidential and vice presidential candidates by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3rd.
Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesperson Riley Vetterkind confirmed the information to The Center Square.
In other battleground states:
- Michigan (15 electoral votes)Presidential nominations must be submitted within one business day of a party’s state or national convention, whichever comes later. Ballots will be prepared beginning Sept. 6. “Presidential candidates will be certified to appear on Michigan’s general election ballot based on the results of each party’s nominating convention,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement..
- Arizona (11)Democratic candidates can change their nomination up to 75 days before Election Day, which is until August 22nd.
- Georgia (11): Candidates must file no later than 60 days before Election Day, September 6th.
- Nevada (6)Typically, Democrats are required to nominate their candidate by the fourth Friday in July, which is July 26. But an amendment passed in September 2023 means that major parties must submit their candidate names by the first business day of September, which this year is September 3.
