Ohio’s top election official called on Democrats at an online conference next month to stop using Ohio as a reason to rush Vice President Kamala Harris into becoming the state’s presidential nominee.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Thursday sent a letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harris accusing party officials of falsely claiming that the state must nominate a presidential candidate before the party’s convention, which runs Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, in order for Ohio’s polls to close.
“I have watched numerous media reports and interviews over the past week in which you repeatedly cite Ohio’s August 7 ballot access deadline as the basis for the Committee’s intent to hold a ‘virtual nominating convention,'” LaRose wrote in his letter to Harrison. “As you know, the Ohio General Assembly carved out an exception to the ballot access deadline for the 2024 Presidential election, passing a bill signed by the Governor that temporarily extended the deadline until September 1, 2024.”
The Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that it would hold virtual roll call votes for presidential and vice presidential candidates weeks before the convention, citing conflicts over ballot availability in Ohio. Harrison and other Democratic leaders have argued that early voting is necessary because of an Aug. 7 deadline set by Ohio law.
Democrats plan to confirm their nominees in a virtual roll call weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to avoid legal disputes.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18, 2024. (Alison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)
“Since May, MAGA Republicans in Ohio have been toying with our democracy and threatening to keep Democrats off the general election ballot. This week, after President Biden withdrew from the election, Republicans like House Speaker Mike Johnson threatened to file lawsuits to challenge Democratic candidates’ status on the ballot and disenfranchise voters,” a Democratic National Committee spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“Democrats are pursuing an open, fair and democratic process to select a candidate, ensure that all legal requirements are met, not just in Ohio, and move forward as a unified Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November,” the spokesperson added.
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Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison has maintained that, contrary to what the Ohio elections chief said, the party must nominate a presidential candidate by the August 7 deadline to ensure access to the Ohio ballot. (Screenshot/NBC/Today)
Democratic National Convention rules require candidates to declare their candidacy at the convention by July 27 and demonstrate they meet the nomination qualifications by July 30. Assuming Harris declares her candidacy and is the only candidate who meets the necessary qualifications and delegate support thresholds, the earliest delegates can begin voting electronically is August 1.
In the unlikely event that multiple candidates declare their candidacy and meet the requirements, each candidate will have up to five days to explain their reasons for nomination to delegates before voting begins.
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The United Center in Chicago, where the Democratic Party will hold its 2024 presidential nominating convention. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
Harris announced she had secured the nomination within 36 hours of Biden dropping out of the race, noting that she had received pledges of support from a majority of the roughly 4,000 delegates.
“I am proud to have garnered the support necessary to be our party’s nominee,” she wrote in a social media post shortly after midnight Tuesday.
Contrary to Democrats’ claims, LaRose argued that there is nothing in Ohio law that would allow Democratic presidential candidates to be removed from the ballot if a candidate is nominated by Sept. 1.
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“As the state’s top election official, I have checked with the Ohio Attorney General and found that Ohio law does not require a ‘virtual roll call’ to be held prior to the August dates of the scheduled Democratic National Convention,” LaRose wrote.
“I am sure your lawyers are well aware of this fact, and I suspect your current rhetorical posturing is part of a plot to replace a sitting president without a convention or any kind of democratic process, which is subtle, if not entirely at odds with your party’s relentless denunciations of threats to democracy. But please stop using the state of Ohio to justify your course of action.”
LaRose ended his letter by assuring Democrats that as long as they nominate candidates for president and vice president by Sept. 1, their candidates will appear on Ohio’s ballot.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
