Ohio’s top election official, a Republican, has raised concerns about President Joe Biden’s eligibility to appear on the state’s ballot due to the timing of the Democratic National Convention.
The Ohio Democratic Party’s chair received a letter from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office on April 5th. The letter highlighted that Ohio law mandates every party to nominate their presidential candidate by August 7th, which is 90 days before the general election, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch.
Mr. LaRose’s top lawyer, Paul Disantis, sent a letter addressing a potential conflict in Ohio law. The conflict arose between the timing of the convention and the statutory deadline for Mr. LaRose’s office to certify the party’s candidates for president and vice president.
According to him, the Democratic National Committee needs to either reschedule its nominating convention or the Ohio General Assembly must take action by May 9, 2024, which is 90 days prior to the effective date of a new law.
The deadline for Ohio’s legislature to waive the deadline is approaching, which means it will have already passed by the time Democrats gather in Chicago for the official nominating convention on August 19th.
Lawmakers in Ohio have waived the 7 August deadline in the past when party conventions were scheduled later in the calendar. Back in 2019, state legislators made a temporary modification to the law due to the timing of the party conventions the following year. This change shortened the pre-election deadline from 90 days to 60 days prior.
According to a spokesperson from President Biden’s 2020 re-election campaign, they are closely monitoring the situation and maintain confidence that Mr. Biden will be included on the ballot in all 50 states.
