Ohio Democrats are facing a ballot dilemma as a legal technicality could prevent President Joe Biden from being on the November ballot. The state requires parties to certify their presidential candidates 90 days before the election, which would be August 7th. However, Biden won’t be the official nominee until the Democratic National Convention, which is on August 19th.
Ohio Senate and House Minority Leaders Nickie Antonio and Allison Russo were reportedly unaware of this deadline, and many other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were also unaware. Secretary of State Frank LaRose did not remind the Democrats until April.
Despite the potential issue, Democrats remain positive. “I’m 100% confident that Joe Biden is going to be on the ballot in Ohio,” Russo said. However, they are exploring options, including a possible “provisional” certification of Biden, which was rejected by Attorney General Dave Yost.
Case Western Reserve University constitutional law professor Jonathan Entin said that in most other states, this would be an easy fix – simply remove the 90-day deadline. However, in Ohio, it may be more complicated. The deadline was included in a major omnibus bill passed in 2010, and exemptions were passed for 2012 and 2020, but not for this year.
Entin called the deadline “arbitrary” and said it may slightly reduce the number of early voting days, but not significantly. To change the deadline, the Republican-controlled legislature would need to pass an emergency bill. Senate President Matt Huffman initially took a hands-off approach, saying it was a “Democratic problem” that should have a “Democratic solution.” However, he later seemed more willing to help, saying, “We’re certainly going to try to accommodate getting it resolved.”
Huffman suggested that the Democrats should not try legislative fixes and instead should ask the Democratic National Committee to announce Biden as their nominee ahead of time, or take legal action. However, Entin does not think this is a strong argument, referring to a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1983 that dealt with a law that discriminated against minor parties, which he said does not apply in this case.
Despite the uncertainty, Democrats remain hopeful. “At the end of the day, we should all be supporting fair and free elections, right?” Antonio said.
Entin criticized the situation, saying it reflects the dysfunction of Ohio government and faults all parties involved, including the Democrats for not knowing the law, the legislature for being uncooperative, and LaRose for waiting until the last minute to raise the issue. He said that responsible public officials should be able to resolve this issue without resorting to legal battles or partisan bickering.
The situation is ongoing, and it remains to be seen how it will be resolved.
