Ohio Governor Urges Lawmakers to Avoid Partisan Clash Threatening Biden’s Ballot Access

The Biden campaign may be forced to sue the state of Ohio to get on its presidential ballot this November, as reported by BBC News. Ohio’s governor is urging state lawmakers to prevent a partisan clash that could potentially keep US President Joe Biden off the key swing state’s ballot.

The conflict arises from Ohio’s ballot access laws, which require political parties to officially confirm their presidential and vice-presidential nominees to the elections chief at least 90 days before the general election. This means that Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, must be certified as the Democratic candidates by August 7th.

However, the Democratic National Convention is scheduled for August 19th to 22nd, after the Ohio deadline. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, warned the Ohio Democratic Party that failing to comply with the deadline could result in their nominees not being included on the ballot.

Governor Mike DeWine, a moderate Republican, is calling for a special legislative session to pass a law allowing Biden to appear on the ballot. DeWine criticized the situation as “ridiculous” and “absurd,” emphasizing the urgency of getting the sitting President of the United States on the ballot.

While the Biden campaign remains confident that the issue will be resolved without drama, with a legislative fix by state Republicans unlikely, legal action may be necessary. Ohio, once a swing state, has shifted increasingly conservative, with Trump winning the state in both 2016 and 2020.

This battle over Ohio’s ballot access follows a similar partisan clash earlier this year, where officials in Colorado, Illinois, and Maine initially barred Trump from their ballots under a Civil War-era insurrection clause. The US Supreme Court ultimately ruled in March that Trump must be placed on the ballots in those states.