Joe Biden will reportedly remain off the ballot in Ohio.

For now, at least. 

“The Ohio Secretary of State has just warned the Democrats that they will be taken off the ballot in November, if they do not confirm in writing, and he’s given them a date by, I believe it’s August 5th, whether or not Joe Biden will be the nominee,” Jack Posobiec said.

“He said ‘we have an issue with our law that you are holding your convention so late in the year that you are not confirming who your nominee is going to be and if you do not tell us that Joe Biden is going to be the one on the ballot, then you’re not going to be on the ballot,'” he added.

WATCH:

“Joe Biden will NOT appear on the Ohio ballot in November as of right now, according to the Ohio Secretary of State The Democratic Party has refused to follow state law requiring both parties to officially nominate their presidents 90 days before an election. Democrats aren’t doing that until 75 days prior,” journalist Nick Sortor said.

“And now, since the legislature has adjourned, the law cannot be changed, and Secretary of State Frank LaRose cannot make an exception. This oughta be interesting!” he added.

“The Republican majority in Ohio’s Legislature won’t pass special legislation to allow President Joe Biden to be on November’s general election ballot, Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R) said on Tuesday,” Democracy Docket stated.

Per Democracy Docket:

The statement comes amid pressure for Ohio lawmakers to amend a state law that sets strict deadlines for certifying presidential candidates for the November ballot. Ohio has a deadline of Aug. 7 for each political party to certify their presidential candidates to appear on the state’s general election ballot on Nov. 5. But the Democratic National Convention — the party’s procedural event where they officially settle on a nominee — isn’t until Aug. 19. That would mean, in order for Biden to appear on Ohio’s ballot, lawmakers would have to amend the law to allow Biden, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee, to be on the ballot.

“It’s a hyper political environment at this time of year,” Stephens told reporters on Tuesday, according to the Statehouse News Bureau. “There are some Republicans who just did not want to vote on it and there were some who were.”

Ohio isn’t the only state with such a rule — both Alabama and Washington also have similar laws that would prevent Biden from appearing on the state’s November ballot because of the date of the Democratic National Convention. Earlier this month, however, Alabama lawmakers passed special legislation to allow the president to appear on the state’s ballot, regardless of deadlines. Washington lawmakers will also allow Biden to appear on the state’s ballot through a provisional certification, so long as the Democratic Party sends provisional certification of nomination before the state’s Aug. 20 deadline, according to ABC News.

Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens said Joe Biden won’t be on the state’s ballot because of the Republican-controlled state legislature.

“There’s just not the will to do that from the legislature,” Stephens said.

Although it won’t happen through the state legislature, there appears to be another method for Democrats to ensure Biden appears on the Ohio ballot.

Cleveland.com explained:

The development means that national Democrats will have to pursue an alternative path to make sure Biden’s name appears on the ballot in November. The Democratic National Committee potentially could pursue an administrative fix, which some observers have described as a “mini-convention” that might get around the state law, or it could file a lawsuit seeking intervention from the court system.

Top Republicans, including Gov. Mike DeWine and Republican Senate President Matt Huffman, have said they think the Biden campaign stands a good chance of making the ballot, particularly given the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently unanimous ruling that restored ex-President Donald Trump’s ballot status in Democratic-controlled Colorado and Maine, overturning decisions by officials in those states.

Stephens said he still thinks Biden will appear on the ballot one way or another. House Minority Leader Allison Russo, the top-ranking Democrat in the Ohio House, said Tuesday she agrees.

“I’ve always said Biden will be on the ballot. There are multiple pathways to doing that the legislative fix is not the only a path. In fact, I felt pretty sure that that was going to be the least likely path,” Russo said.

Why? Russo attributed it to “hyperpartisanship” and “infighting” in the Republican legislature, where Stephens and Huffman are locked in a leadership battle, and Stephens faces opposition from a significant faction of House GOP members.

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