The Ohio Democratic Party has received a letter from the Ohio Secretary of State, cautioning them about the possibility of Joe Biden being excluded from the ballot in the 2024 November election. The letter states that in order to prevent this from happening, either the Democratic National Convention needs to convene earlier or the statutory requirements in the state of Ohio need to be modified or exempted.
In a letter addressed to Ohio Democratic party chair Liz Walters, Ohio secretary of state Frank LaRose, a Republican, highlighted that the upcoming Democratic National Convention, which is set to take place on August 19th and serves as the official platform for nominating the party’s presidential candidate, falls beyond Ohio’s August 7th deadline for certifying candidates on the state’s ballot.
The legal counsel for Ohio Secretary of State Paul Disantis wrote in a letter that either the Democratic National Committee needs to move up its nominating convention or the Ohio General Assembly must take action by May 9, 2024, to create an exception to the statutory requirement. The Ohio Democratic Party has confirmed receiving the letter and is currently reviewing its contents. The Biden campaign remains confident that the president will be on the ballot for November in Ohio.
The Ohio general assembly has the option to pass an exemption waiver before 9 May. If they don’t, it would be difficult to reschedule the convention due to logistical and scheduling issues.
In 2020, both the Republican and Democratic parties held their conventions after the deadline set by Ohio. State lawmakers also made a change by reducing the requirement of being named on the ballot from 90 days to 60 days before the election.
