The letter, citing Ohio’s presidential voting laws, states that the deadline to certify a presidential candidate in Ohio is 90 days before the general election. The election will be held on November 5 this year, putting the deadline in Ohio at August 7 – but the Democratic National Convention, which is expected to nominate Biden for a rematch against Donald Trump, is not expected to meet until on August 19.
The letter from Paul DiSantis, chief legal counsel to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), requested clarification from Democratic state legislative leaders to ensure the party “complies in a timely manner with the Ohio law.”
The members of the Ohio Democratic Party who were copied in the letter – Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo and Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio – did not respond to the The Post’s request for comment Sunday morning, but the Biden campaign said the president would appear on the ballot.
“We are monitoring the situation in Ohio and we are confident that Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states,” Josh Marcus-Blank, a spokesperson for the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign, told the Post in a E-mail.
LaRose’s office suggested either that the Democratic National Committee move up its nominating convention to meet the Aug. 7 deadline or that the Ohio General Assembly create an exception to the law for the Democratic nominee.
Ohio voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020.
It would be surprising if a Democratic or Republican candidate was not on the general election ballot in all 50 states, but in this year’s Democratic primaries, Biden was not on the ballot in New Hampshire.
Democrats rearranged their primary schedule for 2024 to make South Carolina the first election, but New Hampshire – where a state law requires its primaries to be the first in the nation – did not push its primary Democrat in response. The national party urged candidates not to participate, and Biden chose not to put his name on the ballot, but he still won as a write-in candidate.
In 2016, Trump almost missed appearing on the general election ballot in Minnesota due to an error by that state’s Republican Party. In December, Colorado disqualified Trump from the state’s primary election, but the Supreme Court unanimously overturned that decision.
Both major candidates went to Ohio this year, which has 17 electoral votes.
Biden visited East Palestine, Ohio, in February, more than a year after a train derailment there sparked environmental problems and political strife.
Last month, Trump held a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, where he said some immigrants accused of crimes are “not people” and that there would be a “bloodbath for the country” if they don’t. was not elected.
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