President Biden lost Ohio because of unclear procedural issues and is likely to miss out on any chance of winning the state’s 17 electoral votes on November 5th.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) this week asked the state and national Democratic Party to certify Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as candidates and to ensure access to the ballot in early August. He once again warned that the deadline could not be met.
“I have said from here to the state of Colorado that it is in the best interest of voters to have a choice in the presidential race. As the chief elections officer for the state of Ohio, I also have an obligation to follow the law.” LaRose explained X’s Tuesday.
“As things stand, no Democratic presidential candidate will appear on the Ohio ballot. That’s not my choice.”
Why isn’t Biden on the Ohio ballot?
There is still time to turn things around so that Biden, 81, can ultimately get on the ballot, but the issue has to do with the long-fixed timing of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer.
Ohio law requires political parties to certify the names of their presidential and vice presidential candidates at least 90 days before Election Day, which this year is August 7.
The Democratic National Convention, where Biden will officially become the party’s standard-bearer, will be held from August 19-22.
ohio rules Requires certification of ballots 90 days before general election Adopted in 2010 2016 was the only presidential election year in which a deadline extension bill was not needed.
But unlike 2012 and 2020, there’s no appetite this time around for the Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature to give rivals a break.
“I just don’t have the will to do it.”
Ohio House Speaker Jason Stevens suggested Tuesday that his colleagues won’t pursue legislative action to guarantee Biden and Harris the right to vote.
“There’s just no will in Congress to do that,” Stevens told reporters Tuesday. From Cleveland.com.
“This is a very political environment right now, and there are some Republicans who don’t want to vote,” Stevens added. “I think there are other options, so why create unnecessary fuss?”
Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters fired back in a statement, saying, “Today, Republican politicians in the State Legislature made it clear that they want to rob Ohioans of the ability to choose who they want as their president.”
“Corrupt politicians in Columbus have politicized this process and used it to play political games with Ohioans’ ability to hold their government accountable.”
The southern state of Alabama faced similar difficulties with an August 15 certification deadline, but earlier this month Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill granting an extension until August 23, allowing Biden to vote as usual. I made it possible.
Solution with pitfalls
The bill passed the Republican-controlled state Senate. A bill introduced May 10 would waive the deadline but includes a provision limiting foreign funding from being used for state ballot initiatives.
Ohio Republicans blame the influx of foreign cash on the outcome of last year’s state constitution, which guaranteed abortion rights.
The Democratic Party is reluctant to accept this idea.
Can LaRose do anything?
He says he can’t.
Washington state appears poised to deal with a similar dilemma. Simply provide Democrats have set an August 20 deadline for papers to be submitted to confirm their provisional nomination. (Biden is scheduled to be officially crowned the candidate on August 22, the final night of the party convention.)
But LaRose ruled out that possibility in a Tuesday warning to Ohio Democrats, citing an opinion from the state’s Republican attorney general, Dave Yost.
“As the Ohio Attorney General’s Office advised my office, the Democrats’ proposal to file a ‘tentative certification’ by the statutory deadline is ‘simply not provided for in the law,'” he wrote.
What can Democrats do?
LaRose says the only thing they can do is “change the date on which political parties formally nominate presidential candidates.”
But holding the Democratic National Convention this late would be a nearly impossible logistical endeavor.
The impasse has sparked rumors that Democrats are considering filing a lawsuit to force Ohio to put Biden on the ballot.
The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Can Biden win Ohio?
Ohio was once a classic battleground state, but has shifted significantly to the right in recent years.
Trump defeated Biden by eight points in 2020 and has won the state twice.
He was the first incumbent since Benjamin Harrison in 1892 to win the state while losing a reelection bid, and the first to win Ohio and lose a seat since Thomas Dewey in 1944.
The RealClearPolitics polling average gives Trump a double-digit lead over Biden in a potential rematch.
