Campaign

DNC plans to virtually nominate Biden ahead of convention amid Ohio ballot concerns

by Caroline Vakil - 05/28/24 2:09 PM ET

NOW PLAYING

{***PKG**134*} L3 1 and 2 Line:SEN. NICKIE ANTONIO (D) OHIO SENATE MINORITY LEADER No NORMAL L3 1 and 2 Line:SPECIAL STATEHOUSE SESSION UNDERWAY AIMED AT GETTING JOE BIDEN ON OHIO'S ... SEN. NICKIE ANTONIO//(D) OHIO SENATE MINORITY LEADER 14:49:37:06 — "I am very happy that they did announce what they're planning on doing nd im going forward." AS IT STANDS NOW — JOE BIDEN IS NOT ON OHIO'S BALLOT. For weeks, LAWMAKERS TRIED, AND FAILED, TO FIX the issue. L3 1 and 2 Line:SEN. MATT HUFFMAN (R) OHIO SENATE PRESIDENT No NORMALSEN. MATT HUFFMAN//(R) OHIO SENATE PRESIDENT 14:29:23:28 — "I had suggested earlier that the Democratic Party could simply notify the state of ohio as what they plan to do, they dont have to decide they're only going to do it at a convention." L3 1 and 2 Line:SPECIAL STATEHOUSE SESSION UNDERWAY AIMED AT GETTING JOE BIDEN ON OHIO'S ...THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE SAYS THEY WILL ENSURE BIDEN IS ON THE STATE'S BALLOT THROUGH A VIRTUAL ROLL CALL, TO MEET THE STATE'S FILING DEADLINE ON AUGUST SEVENTH. THE DNC SAYS THERE IS "STRONG, EFFECTIVE PRECEDENT FOR THIS PROCESS." STILL, GOVEERNOR Mike DeWine SAYS HE WANTS TO SEE A BILL PASSED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, TO BE SURE THERE IS A permanent SOLUTION. BUT DEWINE CALLED THE SPECIAL SESSION FOR MORE THAN ONE REASON — THE SECOND, IS THE BAN ON FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ISSUE CAMPAIGNS, LIKE THE REDISTRICTING AND MINIMUM WAGE issues THAT MAY BE ON THE BALLOT THIS November. L3 1 and 2 Line:REP. JASON STEPHENS (R) OHIO HOUSE SPEAKER No NORMALREP. Jason Stephens//(R) SPEAKER OF THE Ohio House 10:11:56:23 — "I think its an urgent thing that we need to address. Do I think we will get the votes? It depends on attendance Thursday." L3 1 and 2 Line:SPECIAL STATEHOUSE SESSION UNDERWAY AIMED AT GETTING JOE BIDEN ON OHIO'S ... L3 1 and 2 Line:REP. ALLISON RUSSO (D) OHIO HOUSE MINORITY LEADER No NORMALREP. Allison Russo//(D) Ohio House MINORITY LEADER 10:25:54:25 — "this bill is not about foreign money, which is already illegal." L3 1 and 2 Line:SPECIAL STATEHOUSE SESSION UNDERWAY AIMED AT GETTING JOE BIDEN ON OHIO'S ...THE SENATE PASSED ITS VERSION OF THAT BILL, FOR THE FOURTH TIME ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THE HOUSE IS WORKING ON THEIR OWN LANGUAGE TO DO SO TOO. L3 1 and 2 Line:REP. BILL SEITZ (R) CINCINNATI No NORMALREP. Bill Seitz//(R) CINCINNATI 11:39:01:03 — "the quicker we ban foreign money clearly and uniqucickly and with emphasis, the better." L3 1 and 2 Line:SPECIAL STATEHOUSE SESSION UNDERWAY AIMED AT GETTING JOE BIDEN ON OHIO'S ...REP. Allison Russo//(D) Ohio House MINORITY LEADER 10:28:28:20 — "they are using this as a cover to get at what they really want to attack and that is weakening the citizen ballot initiative process."" station="" title="" feed="" html_embed="true" no_pr="false" disable_muted_autoplay="false" expect_preroll="true" json_feed="" class="" /]

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is planning to virtually nominate President Biden ahead of the party’s convention after the Ohio state Legislature deadlocked on a fix last week to get the president on the ballot in November.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison announced Democrats would be holding a virtual roll call to ensure Biden gets on the ballot in all 50 states — an announcement made on the same day Ohio state lawmakers returned to the Capitol for a special session to solve Biden’s ballot access issue.

“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio and all 50 states, and Ohio Republicans agree. But when the time has come for action, they have failed to act every time, so Democrats will land this plane on our own,” Harrison said in a statement.

“Through a virtual roll call, we will ensure that Republicans can’t chip away at our democracy through incompetence or partisan tricks and that Ohioans can exercise their right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice,” he added.

Democrats were notified earlier this year that the timing of their convention didn’t meet a state deadline to certify the party’s presidential nominee. Democrats needed to certify Biden by Aug. 7 in order to make the Ohio ballot, but the Democratic National Convention kicks off beginning Aug. 19.

Ohio legislators struggled to reach a legislative fix; Senate Republicans passed a bill that would allow a one-time fix that would move the certification deadline back so Democrats could make it. But it was also paired with a provision that would ban foreign contributions in ballot initiatives, which Democrats rejected.

Top Stories from The Hill

The state House had worked on a more permanent solution that would change the certification deadline, but ultimately neither of those bills was officially voted on in the lower chamber.

Liz Walters, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, accused Republicans of “playing politics with our democracy” in a statement Tuesday.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) ordered lawmakers last week to return to the Capitol this week to find a solution to get Biden on the ballot, expressing support for a solution similar to what the Senate proposed, which included the foreign contribution provision.

That raised questions around how Democrats in the state would proceed, given their opposition to the state Senate’s proposal. The DNC’s solution offers Biden an avenue onto the ballot while avoiding an expensive lawsuit.

Add as preferred source on Google

Tags Jaime Harrison Joe Biden