Late DNC Convention: Ohio Sec Of State Informs Dems That Biden's Name Might Not Make November Ballot

Oops! Looks like Robert Kennedy Jr. isn't the only Democrat presidential candidate having trouble getting on ballots for the 2024 general election. As incredible as it might sound, so is … President Joe Biden. Ohio's Secretary of State's office sent a letter to the Ohio Democratic Party on Friday bearing the ill tidings: In the letter [to Ohio Democratic Chair Liz Walters], obtained by ABC News, legal counsel for Secretary of State Frank LaRose sought clarification for "an apparent conflict in Ohio law" between the Democratic National Committee's nominating process and the deadline by which the party's presidential nominee must be certified to the Secretary of State's office. Here's where the Democrats committed a technical foul: The Buckeye state's deadline to certify a presidential candidate happens on Aug. 7. Because the Democratic National Convention is set to take place on Aug.19, that's nearly two weeks too late.

But a couple of solutions might let Biden and the Dems wiggle out of this, as you might expect. In his letter, legal counsel Paul Disantis wrote: "I am left to conclude that the Democratic National Committee must either move up its nominating convention or the Ohio General Assembly must act by May 9, 2024 (90 days prior to a new law's effective date) to create an exception to this statutory requirement," My guess is that changing the dates of a massive event like a nominating convention is out the window. It would be nearly impossible to pull it off, with so many moving parts, on short notice. While the Ohio Dems have only remarked that they received and are mulling over the letter, a Biden campaign spokesperson assured ABC News that "[they're] monitoring the situation in Ohio and [they’re] confident that Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states."

Now, it would be easy for conservatives to play this story up as a major issue, especially on a reactionary forum like social media. While it might be satisfying to celebrate the possibility of the Democrats being embarrassed by something like this, you just know they're scheming right now on how to get out of the blunder. I just realized Biden has one other option--hope that Superman is poised to rescue him, like he did for Lois Lane in 1978's "Superman: The Movie," and turn back time to fix things. As my colleague Ward Clark likes to say, this seems appropriate.

Technical Foul: Ohio's Sec of State Informs Dems That Biden's Name Might Not Make November Ballot
https://redstate.com/beccalower/2024/04/06/technical-foul-ohios-sec-of-state-informs-dems-that-bidens-name-might-not-make-november-ballot-n2172420