WLIO - Ohio Governor Mike DeWine says his patience is at an end over State Lawmakers to agree to a deal to adjust deadlines for officially nominated presidential candidates on the November ballot.
DeWine today called for a special session of Ohio’s State Legislature next week, on Tuesday, May 28, instructing them to work out a deal to ensure incumbent President Joe Biden will appear on the state’s November ballot. The governor says, “Ohio is running out of time to get Joe Biden, the sitting President of the United States, on the ballot this fall. Mr. DeWine says that failing to do so is simply unacceptable. The question of whether Mr. Biden will appear on the state ballot has become entangled in a partisan legislative fight to keep foreign money out of state ballot issue campaigns. Republicans included a foreign donation ban in the legislation to extend this year’s ballot deadline. Democratic lawmakers oppose a ban on foreign cash. The Democratic National Convention, where Mr. Biden is to be formally nominated, is August 19–22. That falls after Ohio’s current ballot deadline of August 7. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose told Governor DeWine that next Wednesday is the "drop-dead" deadline for the ballot at present. This is not an entirely new issue; Ohio lawmakers have had to adjust the requirement twice before, in 2012 and 2020, to accommodate candidates of both parties. Each deadline change was only temporary, and the governor thinks the ballot deadline should be adjusted once and for all.
UPDATE: May 23, 2024, Press Release from Senator J.D. Vance: CINCINNATI, OH -- Senator JD Vance (R-OH) issued the following statement in support of Governor Mike DeWine's calling a special session of the Ohio Legislature to restore President Biden’s ballot access in Ohio:
“This is the right call and it's a reasonable compromise: Republicans keep foreign money out of our state ballot process, and both major parties’ nominees will be on the ballot,” said Senator Vance. “Remember: Donald Trump will beat Joe Biden, whether he’s on the ballot or not, by 10 points. But a lot of Trump voters might sit at home if there isn't a real presidential race, and that will really hurt our down ballot races for the Senate and Congress. We need to play chess."
The Democrat party erred in scheduling its 2024 presidential nominating convention past the ballot access deadline set forth by Ohio state law. The State Legislature can pass an exemption to allow him to appear on the ballot.
