It's official: Biden will appear on Ohio's presidential ballot
Updated: June 2, 2024, 10:13 PM ET
Governor Mike DeWine signed a bill on Sunday that allows Joe Biden to appear on the ballot for this year's presidential election. The bill, known as HB 2, extends the deadline for candidates to appear on the state's ballot. Currently, Ohio law requires parties to nominate at least 100 days before an election for a candidate to appear on the ballot. But this year's Democratic National Convention, held in late August, was scheduled to take place past that deadline. The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are traditionally the venues where presidential candidates are formally nominated. The bill passed the Ohio House of Representatives on Thursday and the Ohio Senate on Friday. Previously, relatively low-profile exceptions have been made under similar circumstances in 2012 and 2020. After an initial effort to get Biden on the ballot in May failed in Congress, Governor DeWine called an unusual special session of the Legislature to address the issue. To get around the issue, the Democratic National Committee announced last week that it would nominate Biden remotely ahead of its scheduled regular convention in Chicago. The Democratic National Committee has yet to announce whether it will continue to do so despite being granted this new extension. Also on Sunday, Governor DeWine signed into law HB 1, a bill banning foreign nationals from making campaign contributions to local elections in Ohio, a ban that many Republican lawmakers had pushed for as a prerequisite for voting to get Biden on the ballot.
Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill Sunday that will allow Joe Biden to appear on the ballot in this year's presidential election.
The bill, known as HB 2, would extend the deadline for candidates to appear on the state's ballot. Currently, Ohio law requires candidates to be nominated by a political party at least 100 days before an election to appear on the ballot.
But the Democratic National Convention, to be held in late August this year, was scheduled to take place after that deadline. The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are traditionally the venues for formally nominating presidential candidates.
The bill passed the Ohio House of Representatives on Thursday and the Ohio Senate on Friday.
Previous exceptions have been made under similar circumstances with relative lack of attention in 2012 and 2020. After the Legislature's first effort to put Biden on the ballot failed in May, Governor DeWine called an unusual special session of the Legislature to address the issue.
To get around this issue, the Democratic National Convention announced last week that it would nominate Biden remotely ahead of its regularly scheduled convention in Chicago. The DNC has not yet said whether it will continue to hold the nomination in light of the newly granted extension.
HB1 was also signed into law by Governor DeWine on Sunday, banning foreign nationals from making campaign contributions to local elections in Ohio, a ban that had been asserted by many Republican lawmakers as a prerequisite for including Biden on the ballot.
