Washington state has joined Ohio and Alabama in facing a potential conflict that could result in President Joe Biden being left off their general election ballots due to discrepancies between the dates of the Democratic National Committee’s nominating convention and state ballot deadlines. However, Washington state has proposed a solution to keep Biden eligible by allowing the party to submit a provisional certification of nomination by August 20. This issue highlights a novel challenge that state election officials are grappling with, as they navigate the unique circumstances of this election cycle.
While Ohio and Alabama have also raised concerns about the timing of the DNC convention and their ballot certification deadlines, red-state officials have been accused of leveraging this issue against Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The potential exclusion of major party candidates from the ballot due to scheduling conflicts represents a unprecedented and possibly partisan move, according to experts. The Biden campaign, along with Democratic officials, is exploring various strategies to ensure that Biden will appear on the ballots of Ohio and Alabama, including provisional certification, legislative action, litigation, and virtual nomination ahead of the convention.
Provisional certification has been a common practice in past elections to accommodate scheduling conflicts, and the Biden campaign is hopeful that this will secure his place on the ballots of both states. However, if provisional certification is not feasible, the campaign is prepared to pursue legal action to address what they see as an unfair restriction on Biden and Harris’s access to the ballot. Ultimately, the DNC may resort to a virtual vote to nominate the Biden-Harris ticket before the convention to circumvent any potential issues with ballot access in states with conflicting deadlines.