2 states may block Biden from Nov. ballot

COLUMBUS, Ohio — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is wrangling with Republican-dominated state governments in Ohio and Alabama to assure he is listed on their fall ballots, as once-mundane procedural negotiations get caught up in the nation’s fractious politics.

Both states, which carry a combined 26 electoral votes, have deadlines for appearing on the ballot that precede the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22 in Chicago. Lawyers for Biden’s campaign have asked their secretaries of state to accept provisional certifications before the cutoff, which would then be updated once Biden is formally nominated.

That’s where things have gotten sticky. Election chiefs in both states have identified solutions that are putting Democrats in the tenuous position of asking Republicans for help. Though former President Donald Trump is favored to win both states, any absence of a sitting president from the ballot could sway faith in the electoral outcome.

It also raises the question: Will the divided parties be able to cooperate for the sake of voters?

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen told the Associated Press that he will not accept a provisional certification because he does not have legal authority to do so. Allen said he sent a letter to the Alabama Democratic Party notifying them of the date problem as a “heads up” so they could address the issue.

Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose sent a similar letter to the Ohio Democratic Party last week. The letter suggested the party needed either to reschedule its convention or obtain a legislative fix by May 9 to get Biden on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Biden’s campaign argues there is precedent in Alabama for accepting provisional certification, including when Republicans faced the same issue in 2020.