Washington state has recently joined Ohio and Alabama in indicating through election officials that President Joe Biden could potentially be omitted from their general election ballots due to conflicts between the dates of the Democratic National Committee’s nominating convention and state ballot deadlines. However, the Evergreen state seems to have already devised a solution for Biden to remain eligible.
The director of elections at the office of Washington’s Secretary of State sent a letter to DNC Chair Jamie Harrison, warning that the deadline for ballot certification under state law falls on Aug. 20, the day after the DNC convenes in Chicago to nominate their presidential and vice-presidential selections.
Stuart Holmes, the Director of Elections under Democratic Secretary Steve Hobbs, signaled that their office would make an exception for the party if they submit a provisional certification of nomination no later than Aug. 20, according to the letter.
This development comes as Ohio and Alabama’s Republican Secretaries of State have recently indicated they would enforce similar state election codes, creating a potential barrier for Biden’s appearance on the general election ballots. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen have alerted Democrats about comparable conflicts between their respective state’s deadlines and the scheduling of the DNC convention in mid-August, cautioning that Biden’s nomination in Chicago comes too late to get on their general election ballots.
While this scheduling conflict isn’t unprecedented, states have historically avoided excluding major party candidates from their ballots by either easily granting provisional ballot access, as Washington is suggesting, or by working through their legislatures to allow certification extensions.
However, experts note that the current situation appears to be uniquely partisan, with red-state officials leveraging the issue against Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. This tactic contrasts with past instances where exceptions were made for candidates from both major parties.
The Biden campaign, along with Democratic officials, is exploring various avenues to ensure the president’s appearance on the ballots in Ohio and Alabama. These avenues include provisional certification, seeking changes to state election filing deadlines through GOP-controlled legislatures, litigation, and potentially holding a virtual nomination vote ahead of the convention.
In the absence of provisional ballot certification, the campaign may resort to legislative action, as demonstrated in past instances in Ohio and Alabama, where laws were passed to accommodate nomination deadlines.
Litigation remains a potential course of action, with the campaign asserting that strict application of ballot deadlines would impose an unjust and unconstitutional restriction on Biden and Harris’s access to the ballot. Recent court decisions, such as Trump v. Anderson, suggest that states have limited power to exclude candidates from appearing on the ballot.
Ultimately, the DNC may need to hold a virtual vote to nominate the Biden-Harris ticket before the convention to address these challenges.
