Alabama lawmakers pass legislation that would clear the way for Biden to appear on the state’s fall ballot

CNN
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Alabama officials have enacted legislation that will allow President Joe Biden to appear on the state’s November ballot, less than a month after the Republican secretary of state warned that Democrats could miss the state’s deadline to formally nominate him as their candidate.

Republican Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday signed into law a bill that delays Alabama’s certification deadline from 82 days before the election to 74 days. That will give Democrats time to put forward Biden’s name after he formally becomes the nominee at this summer’s national convention.

The state House approved the measure on Thursday, while the state Senate did so early last week. Republicans hold overwhelming majorities in both chambers.

The latest developments in Alabama have put an end to a politically charged drama that otherwise could have devolved into a legal battle between Democrats and state officials.

Wes Allen, Alabama’s secretary of state, warned state Democrats and the Democratic National Committee last month that the timing of their national convention could conflict with the state’s Aug. 15 certification deadline. holding its convention in July.

Allen’s warning came days after election officials in Ohio signaled that the Democratic convention would take place after the Buckeye State’s Aug. 7 deadline to certify presidential candidates.

In recent years, legislators and state election officials have quietly resolved certification timeline issues, enacting legislation to delay the deadline or accepting tentative certifications from political parties.

Four years ago, when the Republican convention took place a week after the Alabama deadline, Allen’s predecessor, also a Republican, accepted a provisional certification from the national Republican Party in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s nomination. Democrats also filed a tentative certification.

Allen, however, insisted that state law does not allow provisional certification.

In Ohio, which requires parties to submit the names of their nominees 90 days before the general election, the path forward is less clear. State officials said they will not accept provisional certification.

Historically, lawmakers have resolved the issue by passing legislation to delay the deadline. Such a legislative correction would need to be enacted by May 9.

Ohio State Senate Republican President Matt Huffman expressed confidence last month that Biden would be on the ballot, whether through legislation or federal court involvement.

He pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in March to keep Trump in the Colorado primary despite a state court ruling that he had violated the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause.

“The federal court is not going to allow the state of Ohio to say you can’t have Joe Biden on the ballot,” Huffman said during an episode of her podcast. “That’s just not going to happen.”

This story and title have been updated.