Ohio’s secretary of state on Friday signaled that the Democratic National Convention may take place too late for President Joe Biden to appear on the general election ballot in the state, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.
“The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to convene on August 19, 2024, which occurs more than a week after the August 7 deadline to certify a presidential candidate to the office,” Secretary of State Frank LaRose wrote to Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters.
ABC News first reported about the existence and content of this letter.
In the note, LaRose goes on to say that the oversight can be rectified in two ways: either by the Democratic Party moving up its nominating convention or by getting the Ohio state legislature to “create an exemption to this statutory requirement” by May 9 in accordance with state law.
Ohio state Rep. Allison Russo, the state House minority leader, and state Sen. Nickie Antonio, the state Senate minority leader, were also copied on LaRose’s letter.
A spokesperson for the Biden campaign told NBC News that the campaign is “monitoring the situation in Ohio and we’re confident that Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states.”
As a major political party, the Democratic Party appears on ballots in all 50 states.
In the primary contest earlier this year, Biden opted not to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire because its primary was held in violation of the Democratic National Committee, which approved a calendar that would have seen South Carolina hold its primary first. Biden nonetheless won the New Hampshire primary on a write-in campaign.
