COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday he will convene a rare special session of the General Assembly next week to pass legislation ensuring President Joe Biden will be on the state ballot in 2024.
The extraordinary session was called for Tuesday.
“Ohio is running out of time to put Joe Biden, the sitting President of the United States, on the ballot this fall. Failure to do so is simply unacceptable. It’s ridiculous. It’s (an) absurd situation,” DeWine said.
The question of whether Biden will appear on the ballot found itself embroiled in a partisan legislative fight to keep foreign money out of state election campaigns, a year after money linked to a Swiss billionaire boosted a successful effort to enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution of this solidly red state.
The Democratic National Convention, where Biden is to be officially nominated, will take place after Ohio’s voting deadline on August 7. The convention will be held August 19-22 in Chicago.
Since Ohio changed its certification deadline from 60 to 90 days before the general election, state lawmakers have had to adjust that requirement twice, in 2012 and 2020, to accommodate candidates from both parties. Each change was only temporary.
This year, lawmakers were unable to find a solution by a May 9 deadline set by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
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DeWine said he spoke to LaRose on Thursday and said we were “up against a wall.” LaRose told him that next Wednesday was the deadline.
” I waited. I was patient. And my patience is running out,” DeWine said.
DeWine said his proclamation would pass a Senate version of the bill that also prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to Ohio’s election measures.
The proposal has been described as a “poison pill” in Ohio’s fractured House, where Republicans rely on Democratic votes to pass some legislation.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Senate President Matt Huffman encouraged House leaders to allow a vote on House Bill 114.
“We agree with the governor. It’s time to protect Ohio’s elections by banning foreign campaign contributions, while correcting the Democratic Party’s mistake that kept Joe Biden off the November ballot,” the statement said.
DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said after the governor’s speech that a “clean” House bill that would change the ballot deadline permanently could also be considered.
Ohio House Democratic Leader Allison Russo said via social platform X that money from foreign donors is already illegal and the real problem is that dark money goes to candidates.
“GOP strategy: Change the rules when you can’t win,” Russo said. “They are terrified of citizens using their voice in direct democracy, so now they want to completely upend citizens’ ability to fund electoral initiatives. Any talk of “foreign money” is a red herring. »
State Democratic Party Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters accused GOP lawmakers of politicizing the process and disenfranchising Ohioans.
“We must pass Ohio’s anti-corruption law, which would require dark money groups to identify their donors, disclose their spending and strengthen the ban on foreign money,” Walters said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, Republican politicians who hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Statehouse must put politics aside and pass a clean bill to put Joe Biden on the ballot,” she continued. “Despite Republican political gamesmanship, we are confident that Joe Biden will be on the Ohio ballot.”
Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance, who represents Ohio, said in a statement that calling a special session is a “reasonable compromise” to keep out foreign money and to register the two major candidates. parties on the ballot.
Vance said he was confident that former President Donald Trump would beat Biden whether he was on the ballot or not, but he said “a lot of Trump voters might stay home if he doesn’t “There’s no real presidential race, and that would really hurt our negative vote.” races for Senate and Congress. We have to play chess.
Messages seeking comment were left with House Speaker Jason Stephens’ spokesperson and the Biden campaign.
Alabama recently changed its law to ensure Biden will appear on the fall ballot. The Alabama bill offered the president accommodations similar to those made four years ago for then-President Donald Trump.
The last time Ohio lawmakers were ordered to return to Columbus in this manner was in 2004, under Republican Gov. Bob Taft, to consider campaign finance reform.
News Source : apnews.com
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