Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose informed the state Democratic leadership that President Joe Biden is at risk of being excluded from the state’s November election ballot not because of some fucked up political shenanigans by the GOP but because the state Party scheduled its nominating convention for more than a week after Ohio’s deadline to submit slates, NBC News reports.
In a rare display of competence and fairness by a Republican office holder, LaRose sent a letter to Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters noting the state Party’s convention date. “The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to convene on August 19, 2024, which occurs more than a week after the August 7 deadline to certify a presidential candidate to the office,” LaRose wrote to Walters, cc’ing the Democratic leaders of the state legislature and senate as well.
LaRose helpfully offered two potential ways to address the issue: move the dates of the nomination vote to before the deadline or by getting the Republican-dominated legislature to grant an extension to the Democratic Party to submit its formal notification by May 9th, the 90-day administrative deadline for such an extension. With those options, the new date for the state Democratic convention has not yet been announced.