Alabama officials have approved legislation to ensure that President Joe Biden will appear on the state’s November ballot, similar to accommodations made for then-President Donald Trump four years ago. The legislation was approved by the House of Representatives in a 93-0 vote, and was signed into law by Republican Governor Kay Ivey on the same day. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Merika Coleman, hailed the bipartisan support for the legislation in the Republican-dominated Alabama Legislature. The issue of Biden’s ballot access arose due to the state’s early certification deadline falling before the Democratic National Convention, prompting concerns that he might not appear on the state ballots.
Alabama has one of the earliest candidate certification deadlines in the country, leading to difficulties for the political party with the later convention date each year. To address this issue, the Alabama legislation deferred the state’s certification deadline from 82 days before the general election to 74 days, in order to accommodate the date of the Democrats’ nominating convention. The Biden campaign reassured that he would be on the ballot in all 50 states, as states across the country have consistently taken steps to ensure that presidential nominees from both parties are included on the ballot. Previously, Trump faced a similar issue in Alabama in 2020, prompting the Republican-controlled Legislature to change the certification deadline for that election to align with the GOP convention date.
The Biden campaign had asked Alabama to accept provisional certification, as had been done in the past in Alabama and other states, to avoid litigation. Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen expressed that he did not have the authority to accept provisional certification, leading to the passage of the legislation to ensure Biden’s ballot access. Failure to grant Biden ballot access would likely have resulted in legal challenges, given that accommodations had been made in the past for nominees of the opposing party. The legislation aimed to avoid any potential electoral disputes and ensure that the necessary steps were taken to include the presidential nominees on the ballot.
In Ohio, a similar issue arose regarding the state’s 90-day rule, which set this year’s ballot deadline at August 7th. The Republican-led Legislature had until Thursday to approve an exemption to this rule, with no bill forthcoming. However, there was still the possibility of a bill being introduced, as both parties had not entirely ruled it out. The state House and Senate both had voting sessions scheduled for Wednesday, indicating that the issue was being actively discussed. Alabama’s successful passage of legislation to address the ballot access issue for President Biden set a precedent for other states facing similar challenges to prioritize ensuring that presidential nominees from both parties are included on the ballot.
