Is this more “deepfake,” or is President Biden in jeopardy of being left off the ballot in Ohio this fall? In a breaking story on Monday, it was reported that unless Ohio’s Republican-dominated legislature provides an exception or the Democratic Party moves ahead its convention, Biden’s name will not appear on the November ballot, according to the office that oversees elections in the state.
The monkey wrench in this process was the timing of Ohio’s deadline to certify presidential candidates on August 7, two weeks before the Democratic National Convention. The certification date in Ohio for candidates must occur 90 days before the general election, which is Nov. 5. “Please contact me as soon as possible with any information that can assure this office of timely compliance with Ohio law,” wrote Paul DiSantis, the chief legal counsel for Frank LaRose, the Republican Secretary of State.
A statement from the Biden campaign indicated that they were monitoring the situation and were “confident that Joe Biden [would] be on the ballot in all 50 states.”
Before the 2020 presidential election there was a similar situation when both parties were scheduled outside the deadline forcing Ohio lawmakers to make changes for that election.
Biden’s team is busy contending with Trump’s “bloodbath” rhetoric about the southern border, and the ballot matter in Ohio, where Trump won in the previous two bids for the Oval Office. This is a nettlesome issue they can’t ignore.
A letter sent to Liz Walters, the Democratic Party Chair in Ohio, said the legislature would need to act by May 9 to create an exception to the deadline. For the Dems to change their convention date at this time would appear to be out of the question.
And Democrats aren’t confident that voters who want to vote for Biden can’t write his name?