Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine (R) declared on Thursday that he will convene a special meeting of the GOP-controlled state Legislature the following week to talk about including both former President Trump and Vice President Biden on the state’s ballot for the fall election. Because the Democratic National Convention is held after the Ohio certification deadline, Democrats have been unable to certify Biden as their nominee in the state. This is primarily a procedural matter, wherein both parties must certify their presidential candidate with the state before the deadline. In this instance, the convention takes place after the 90-day window during which presidential nominees must be certified for the election.
Usually, one of the answers would be a legislative repair, like modifying the certification deadline, but this month’s legislative gridlock in the state House and Senate prevents legislation that would assist in establishing a cure to get Biden on the ballot. In a statement, DeWine announced that he will convene lawmakers on Tuesday to discuss the matter. “Ohio has limited time to have the current US president on the ballot this autumn. It is unacceptable to fail to do so, according to DeWine. The General Assembly’s goals for the meeting are to approve laws that would ban campaign expenditures and guarantee that Ohio voters would have the opportunity to choose between the presidential nominees of both major parties in November.

Republicans from Ohio in the General Assembly used multiple strategies to place Biden on the ballot

Democrats objected to another provision in the package that would have prohibited foreign nationals from funding ballot campaign initiatives. Democrats surmise that Republicans were enraged after the party managed to call off a special election in August that resulted in the rejection of a ballot initiative at the center of the abortion rights movement, as well as after the party successfully passed a pro-abortion bill in November. Republicans have already attacked Hansjorg Wyss, a donor from Switzerland, for his contributions to organizations that helped Democrats win those two elections.
Alternatively, a clean bill that would have permanently lowered the certification deadline from 90 days before the election to 74 days was being pursued by state house Republicans. Republicans in the state Senate passed their plan, but they did not put it to a vote in the House. The House passed their legislative remedy unofficially, but lawmakers couldn’t move on until shortly after. Although the situation got more unclear, Biden would be on the ballot in November, as both parties have emphasized. Democrats had been considering taking the convention to court or finding another way around the problem. DeWine’s declaration implies that neither of those choices should be taken into account, but Democrats are expected to take offense at his effort to approve the Senate’s approach. The Senate Republican Caucus praised DeWine for his action. “With the Governor, we concur. It is time to repair the Democratic Party’s mistake that prevented Joe Biden from running for office in November and safeguard Ohio’s elections by prohibiting foreign contributions to political campaigns. John Fortney, a spokesman for state Senate President Matt Huffman (R), stated in a statement, “We encourage the Speaker and Minority Leader to allow a vote on House Bill 114 which does both.”

Speaker of the House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) delivered a long speech

We have been working for weeks to find a legislative way to put President Biden on the ballot. In the end, the Republican caucus lacked the will to take this action. We have been working on a solution because everyone thinks that foreign political contributions from ballot issue campaigns in Ohio should be prohibited. To address the issue, we have language that has been reviewed and approved by specialists in campaign finance as well as significant stakeholders. This phrase does not unintentionally restrict residents’ rights to be heard; rather, it explicitly and firmly forbids foreign influence in Ohio’s issue campaigns.
Next week, we anticipate practical measures that will genuinely pass both chambers and address issues. Regarding the extraordinary session, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) released the following statement. Senator Vance stated, “This is the proper decision and a fair compromise: Republicans keep foreign money out of our state’s election process, and the nominees of both major parties will be on the ballot. “Keep in mind that, come election day or not, Donald Trump will defeat Joe Biden by a margin of ten points. However, if there isn’t a legitimate presidential contest, many Trump supporters might stay at home, which would seriously harm the contests for the Senate and Congress. Our task is to play chess. Under a content-sharing arrangement, this piece that first appeared on News5Cleveland.com is also published in the Ohio Capital Journal. It is owned by WEWS in Cleveland, thus unlike other OCJ pieces, other news organizations cannot freely republicate it.

“It is crucial that Ohioans remember this when they vote for president,”

In an announcement on social media, Mr. LaRose, who has previously advocated for a legislative solution to the problem, praised Mr. DeWine’s choice, writing, “I applaud his decisive leadership in calling a special session to resolve this issue for the voters of our state.” This year, there were comparable procedural problems in some states when Mr. Biden’s nomination was submitted after the deadline for placing candidates on the ballot. Those states promptly resolved the matter. For instance, the State Legislature of Alabama overwhelmingly approved a bill extending the deadline. Election officials in Washington State declared that they would recognize Mr. Biden’s candidacy in a provisional capacity.
However, earlier this week, House Speaker Jason Stephens declared that there “just wasn’t the will” to pass a legislative fix in Ohio, making the patch appear all but dead. Moreover, Mr. LaRose stated in a letter to the Democratic Party this week that he would not accept a provisional certification and that, absent a “legally acceptable remedy” from the party, he would “instruct boards of elections to begin preparing ballots that do not include the Democratic Party’s nominees.”