Calling the situation “absurd” and “ridiculous,” Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced he would call an emergency session of the legislature to take action to ensure President Joe Biden appears on the state’s ballot in November, the Washington Post reports, fixing a problem caused by the late date of the Democratic National Convention.
Ohio’s deadline for Parties to submit their nominees is August 7th; the DNC is scheduled for August 18th through 20th, with Biden’s official nomination to happen on August 19th and Biden’s acceptance speech slated to close out the convention. It’s not the first time Ohio has had similar schedule clashes–nor is Ohio the only state impacted by this; Alabama’s legislation quickly passed a bill, signed by GOP Governor Kay Ivey earlier this month, to fix its conflict. Typically, Ohio’s legislature would simply vote on allowing an extension, but bipartisanship doesn’t work in Ohio’s Republican majority.
“This is simply unacceptable,” DeWine said when asked about the problem during a press briefing. “Ohio is running out of time to get Joe Biden, the sitting president of the United States, on the ballot this fall. Failing to do so is simply not acceptable. This is a ridiculous — this is an absurd — situation.”