Ohio and Alabama, both Republican-run states, have said they may not allow Biden to appear on the ballot in November.
It all boils down to deadlines before Biden is officially selected, and both Ohio and Alabama authorities believe Biden may be too late.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen addressed a letter to the head of the Alabama Democratic Party on Tuesday, reminding him that if the party does not officially certify Biden as its presidential candidate by August 15th, the president will not be placed on the November ballot.
That’s because, according to Allen, the state of Alabama requires political parties to submit their certificates of nomination no later than 82 days before the November 5 election.
“I took an oath to uphold and defend the laws and constitution of my state, and I take that oath very seriously,” Allen told Business Insider. “I will administer Alabama elections in accordance with Alabama law and the deadlines provided therein.”
Biden has already collected enough delegates to clinch the 2024 candidacy.
The Democratic National Convention, where Biden would receive the formal nomination, is planned to begin four days later, on August 19th.
A similar issue came in 2020 when the Republican National Convention, when Trump was officially nominated, took place beyond Alabama’s deadline. However, Trump was able to be on the ballot that year because the state’s Republican-controlled legislature sponsored a special bill that provided a one-time exception to the deadline.
Alabama officials could do the same for Democrats this year if they wanted to.
The state of Ohio, led by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, has also announced that the Democratic convention will take place after Ohio’s own August 7 deadline.
Ohio, like Alabama, requires political parties to submit their formal nominees by the deadline if they wish to appear on the ballot. A representative for the Ohio Secretary of State confirmed to BI that the state allowed a one-time exception to the norm ahead of the 2020 election because both the DNC and RNC were scheduled for after the deadline.
“This law has been on the books for many years,” Ben Kindel, an Ohio Secretary of State representative, told Business Insider. “Ultimately, both political parties have well-paid attorneys who are capable of advising them on the legal requirements for ballot access.”
“Each party sets their own bylaws, organizes a national convention, and establishes rules for certifying candidates to the ballot,” Kindel went on to say. “Our office is not involved in that process.”
Last week, Ohio’s Democratic Party Chair received a letter from Paul DeSantis, the Ohio Secretary of State’s principal legal counsel. In it, he claims that in order for Biden to appear on the ballot, the DNC must either move its convention date forward or the state’s General Assembly must approve another extension to the deadline by May 9.
The Biden campaign emphasized that it is not alarmed.
“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states,” a representative for the Biden campaign told BI. “State officials have the ability to grant provisional ballot access certification prior to the conclusion of presidential nominating conventions.”
“In 2020 alone,” the press release goes on to say, “states like Alabama, Illinois, Montana, and Washington all allowed provisional certification for Democratic and Republican nominees.”
While Alabama is a deep-red state, Ohio is far more competitive, though it has shifted toward the Republican side in recent years.