In a significant political development, Alabama’s Republican Governor Kay Ivey has signed a new law that ensures President Joe Biden’s name will feature on the state’s November ballot. This move comes less than a month after the state’s Republican Secretary of State, Wes Allen, cautioned that the Democrats might miss the state’s deadline to officially nominate their candidate.
The new legislation extends Alabama’s certification deadline from 82 days before the election to 74 days. This extension provides Democrats with the necessary time to submit Biden’s name following his official nomination at the national convention this summer. The state House approved the measure earlier on Thursday, with the state Senate having done so last week. Republicans hold a dominant majority in both chambers.
This latest development in Alabama effectively ends a politically charged situation that could have escalated into a legal dispute between Democrats and state officials. Secretary of State Allen had previously warned state Democrats and the Democratic National Committee that the timing of their national convention could clash with the state’s certification deadline of August 15. The Democratic convention is scheduled for August 19-22, while the Republicans will hold their convention in July.
Allen’s warning followed a similar alert from Ohio’s election officials, who noted that the Democratic convention would occur after Ohio’s August 7 deadline to certify presidential candidates. In the past, such certification timeline issues have been quietly resolved by either pushing back the deadline through legislation or accepting provisional certifications from political parties.
Four years ago, when the Republican convention was held a week after Alabama’s deadline, Allen’s predecessor, also a Republican, accepted a provisional certification from the national GOP in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s nomination. Democrats also submitted a provisional certification at that time. However, Allen has maintained that state law does not permit provisional certification.
In Ohio, where parties are required to submit their nominees’ names 90 days before the general election, the way forward remains uncertain. State officials have stated they will not accept provisional certification. Historically, such issues have been resolved by passing legislation to move back the deadline. Such a legislative solution would need to be implemented by May 9.
Ohio’s Republican State Senate President, Matt Huffman, expressed confidence last month that Biden would be on the ballot, whether through legislation or federal court intervention. He referenced the US Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in March to keep Trump on the primary ballot in Colorado, despite a state high court ruling that he had violated the insurrection clause of the 14th amendment.
“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 a podcast episode. “That’s just not going to happen.”
This story and headline have been updated.