Senate Republicans voted to put President Joe Biden on the ballot, but only after pairing it with campaign finance legislation opposed by Democrats

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.

The Ohio House is expected to vote on a bill that would fix a problem in state law that could keep Democratic President Joe Biden off the November ballot.

The bill would change the certification deadline to 74 days before the November 5 election. Currently, the law requires election officials to certify the ballot 90 days before the next election. Biden wouldn’t be certified until the Democratic National Convention meets 12 days after that deadline.

House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) said this bill fixes that issue.

“It changes the reporting deadline from….to 74 days and it enables the notification to be a lot more flexible whether it is email or whatever that case is. So this just gives the flexibility so the secretary of state can follow the law and everybody can have their convention and we can get this taken care of,” Stephens said.

“So hopefully this will take care of that issue without much fanfare,” Stephens said.

House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said she’s optimistic.

“I’m glad to see this bipartisan effort to come to the table. I think this is common sense. It fixes an issue for both parties, an issue that we’ve had to fix in the past,” Russo said.

Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) has said in the past that Biden would be on the Ohio ballot but didn’t specify exactly how that would happen.

The 90-day deadline was created in a 2010 law. Legislators made changes in law to temporarily change the deadline for the elections in 2012 and 2020, because both Republicans and Democrats had conventions scheduled for after the deadline.

A woman who fell from the stands to her death during a graduation ceremony at Ohio State University last weekend has been identified as a Georgia resident, authorities announced Tuesday. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office said Larissa Brady, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene just outside Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Sunday. The Columbus Dispatch, citing coroner documents, reports that the death is being investigated as an apparent suicide.

An investigation continues into how Brady fell from the stadium, which the school says is 136 feet tall, to the pavement below. However, Ohio State police do not suspect foul play and believe the fall was not accidental, university spokesperson Ben Johnson said Tuesday. It happened around midday, near the stadium’s Bell Tower, as the last graduates were filing into the stadium. According to the coroner’s office, Brady entered the stadium with her husband and 12-year-old son but they lost sight of her after she said she wanted to move higher. The coroner’s office said Brady had mental health issues and had attempted suicide twice before, the Dispatch reports.

According to the commencement program, Brady’s daughter was among those graduating. The commencement continued without mention of what happened, but some students and others at the ceremony were visibly upset after the fall, the AP reports. A spokesman said the university has contacted all graduates and staff who volunteered at graduation to offer counseling services.

If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the US is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

(More Ohio State University stories.)