Ohio GOP leaders reject Democrats' plan to get President Joe Biden on November ballot
Haley BeMiller
Updated Wed, April 17, 2024 at 3:31 PM CDT·2 min read
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Ohio officials rejected a plan from Democrats to get President
Joe Biden on the November ballot after the party
scheduled its convention past a state election deadline.
Secretary of State
Frank LaRose warned Ohio Democrats earlier this month that Biden is at risk of not making the Nov. 5 ballot. State law requires officials to certify the ballot 90 days before an election − which is Aug. 7 this year − but the president won't officially be nominated until the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19.
In a letter to LaRose's office, obtained by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, attorney Don McTigue said the Democratic Party would provisionally certify Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Aug. 7 deadline. McTigue noted that Biden had already secured enough delegates for the Democratic nomination after facing no significant primary challenge.
Biden easily won
Ohio's presidential primary with 87% of the vote.
"If President Biden and Vice President Harris are not listed on the ballot as the Democratic Party candidates, their supporters in Ohio will be stripped of the opportunity to associate with their preferred candidate," McTigue wrote.
But Attorney General Dave Yost's office says provisional approval won't work, nor can LaRose unilaterally change election deadlines.
"Instead, the law mandates the Democratic Party to actually certify its president and vice-president candidates on or before August 7, 2024," Julie M. Pfeiffer, an attorney on Yost's staff, told LaRose's legal counsel. "No alternative process is permitted."