Ohio
Ohio Senate votes to put Biden on 2024 ballot, but problem isn’t fixed yet
Senate Republicans voted to put President Joe Biden on the ballot, but only after pairing it with campaign finance legislation opposed by Democrats
Here’s what we know now about election polling in 2024
In the 2016 presidential election, pollsters infamously predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the White House. Here’s what we know now about election polling in 2024.
The Ohio Senate voted Wednesday to put President Joe Biden on the November ballot, but only after pairing it with campaign finance legislation that Democrats cast as a poison pill and refused to support.
Senate Republicans approved a one-time ballot fix that would change the certification deadline to 74 days before the Nov. 5 election. Under current law, state officials must certify the ballot by Aug. 7 − 90 days beforehand − but Biden won’t be nominated until the Democratic National Convention 12 days later.
The Senate vote came one day after House leaders unveiled a separate plan to get Biden on the ballot and prevent future scheduling conflicts. The House is expected to take up that bill this afternoon.
Republicans folded the new deadline into a bill that would allow candidates to use their campaign funds to cover child care costs. It also includes a modified plan to ban foreign citizens and U.S. residents with green cards from donating to ballot campaigns. It’s already illegal for non-U.S. citizens to donate to candidates.
Senate Democrats opposed the bill − despite the fix for Biden − and said it would create another hurdle for groups that want to place issues on the ballot. For instance, it would require those campaigns to register as political action committees, something critics say could burden hyperlocal efforts like liquor options.
Republicans proposed the changes after a progressive dark money group poured millions into campaigns for the abortion rights amendment and independent redistricting commission.
“This Legislature is not fair,” Sen. Bill Demora, D-Columbus, said. “It’s not bipartisan. It’s not how policy should be made.”
Which Biden ballot fix will the Ohio House support?
It’s unclear what happens from here.
The Ohio House will vote on a different bill Wednesday that would change this year’s deadline to 74 days before the election. For 2028 and beyond, it would allow parties that can’t meet the 90-day deadline to certify presidential candidates either 74 days beforehand or within three days of their convention, whichever comes first.
Ohio has one of the earliest ballot deadlines in the country, according to the National Association of Secretaries of State. And this isn’t the first time it caused problems: The Legislature voted in 2012 and 2020 to temporarily change the deadline when parties scheduled their conventions too late.
Bills do not take effect for three months after Gov. Mike DeWine signs them, unless they come with an emergency clause attached. Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the Legislature needs to act by Thursday to get a fix in place.
LaRose supports the ban on foreign spending, but his spokesman, Ben Kindel, declined to say if he has a preferred plan for getting Biden on the November ballot.
“We’re leaning on the Legislature to come up with a fix that works for our Ohio law,” Kindel said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau reporter Jessie Balmert contributed.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.