Democrats Announce Plan to Ensure Biden’s Ballot Access in Ohio
The Democratic Party has unveiled a strategy to overcome a partisan deadlock that jeopardizes President Joe Biden’s inclusion on Ohio’s general election ballot.
Biden is set to formally accept his party’s presidential nomination for 2024 at the national convention in August.
However, Excel Magazine International learnt Republican officials in Ohio have intensified a standoff over the convention’s dates and state ballot access laws, prompting the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to virtually nominate Biden ahead of the convention.
“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio and all 50 states, and Ohio Republicans agree,” DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said on Tuesday. “But when the time has come for action, they have failed to act every time, so Democrats will land this plane on our own.”
Party conventions, typically held in presidential election years, are events filled with pomp and pageantry, culminating in an in-person roll call where delegates nominate their candidate.
Although this tradition was largely virtual in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, but both parties planned to return to in-person formats in 2024.
The Republicans will convene in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 15-18 to re-nominate former President Donald Trump, while the Democrats will meet in Chicago, Illinois from August 19-22 to nominate Biden.
The Democratic Party usually holds its convention after the Republican event. However, Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose warned in April that the DNC’s schedule conflicts with state election laws, which require parties to confirm their presidential and vice-presidential nominees at least 90 days before the general election.
In a letter to state Democrats, LaRose indicated he was “duty-bound to instruct boards of elections to begin preparing ballots” without Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris if the convention schedule did not change.
Historically, such conflicts have been resolved without much drama, with Ohio making exceptions for Trump in 2020 and Mitt Romney in 2012.
This year, Washington state Democrats and Alabama Republicans made necessary adjustments to exempt Biden from ballot deadlines.
However, Ohio’s Republican legislature opposed a similar solution, with House Speaker Jason Stephens stating, “there’s just not the will to do that.”
Governor Mike DeWine, a moderate Republican, called for a special legislative session on Tuesday to address the issue, urging an end to what he described as an “absurd situation.”
Despite this, doubts persisted about the legislature’s willingness to implement a fix, prompting Democrats to take unilateral action.
“Through a virtual roll call, we will ensure that Republicans can’t chip away at our democracy through incompetence or partisan tricks and that Ohioans can exercise their right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice,” Harrison asserted.
The exact timing and format of the virtual roll call remain unclear.
Ohio, once a swing state, has trended conservative in recent elections, with Trump winning by approximately 8% margins in both 2016 and 2020.
The ballot dispute follows another significant partisan conflict earlier this year, involving Trump’s eligibility under a Civil War-era insurrection clause. Although initially barred from the ballot by officials in Colorado, Illinois, and Maine, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that Trump must be included on these states’ presidential ballots.
The Democrats’ decision to nominate Biden virtually highlights ongoing tensions and strategic maneuvers in a deeply polarized political landscape.
