According to ABC News, Joe Biden could be left off the ballot in Washington state for the 2024 election “due to conflicts between the dates of the Democratic National Committee’s nominating convention and state ballot deadlines.”

The outlet obtained a letter the director of elections at the office of Washington’s Secretary of State sent to DNC Chair Jamie Harrison.

In the letter, Harrison received a 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.”

Washington joined Ohio and Alabama in states where Biden could be left off the ballot due to conflicts between the dates of the Democratic National Committee’s nominating convention and state ballot deadlines.

However, it appears the Democrat-led state has already proposed an option to let Biden qualify for the ballot.

Per ABC News:

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 comes as Ohio and Alabama’s Republican Secretaries of State over the past week have indicated they’d enforce similar state election codes in a way that experts have said is unprecedented and perhaps partisan in nature.

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.

In Ohio, LaRose flagged in a letter last week that the DNC’s convention, set to begin on Aug. 19, would miss their Aug. 7 ballot certification deadline. In Alabama, Allen sent a letter to Democrats on Tuesday warning that their Aug. 15 cutoff would occur before the convention.

NBC News reports:

Asked about the situation in Alabama and Ohio, a Biden campaign official told NBC News that the president “will be on the ballot in all 50 states.”

“State officials have the ability to grant provisional ballot access certification prior to the conclusion of presidential nominating conventions. In 2020 alone, states like Alabama, Illinois, Montana and Washington all allowed provisional certification for Democratic and Republican nominees,” the official added.

In Ohio, state law requires presidential and vice presidential nominees to be “certified to the secretary of state or nominated” through one of several manners “on or before the ninetieth day before the day of the general election.”

That means 12 days before the start of the Democratic National Convention — Aug. 7 — is the Buckeye State’s deadline.

Paul Disantis, chief counsel for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, warned of the potential for a missed deadline in an April 5 letter to Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters.

LaRose spokesperson Ben Kindel noted that the Legislature approved a temporary exception in 2020, when Democrats and Republicans both held conventions after the 90-day deadline. But it’s not an issue this year for the GOP, which enjoys overwhelming majorities in the Ohio state House and Senate.

It’s unclear whether enough Republican lawmakers are willing to help Democrats by changing the law, the simplest way out of the bind.

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.


We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.