COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday he will call a rare special session of the General Assembly next week to pass legislation that would ensure President Joe Biden is on the state’s ballot in 2024.
A special session was called on Tuesday.
“Ohio’s time is running out to put the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, on the ballot this fall. To fail to do so is simply unacceptable. It’s ridiculous. It’s (a) ridiculous situation,” DeWine said.
The question is Will Biden appear on the ballot? Caught in a partisan legislative fight to keep foreign money out of state ballot campaigns, the money tied to the Swiss billionaire increased a year later. A successful effort to secure abortion rights In a solid red state constitution.
Biden is formally nominated by the Democratic National Convention, Ohio’s voting deadline of Aug. Coming after 7. The conference will be held in Chicago from August 19-22.
Because Ohio changed its certification deadline from 60 to 90 days before the general election, state lawmakers had to adjust the requirement twice, in 2012 and 2020, to accommodate candidates from both parties. Every change is only temporary.
Lawmakers this year failed to come up with a solution by the May 9 cutoff set by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
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Devine said he spoke to LaRose on Thursday and said we were “up against the wall.” LaRose told him the drop-dead deadline was next Wednesday.
“I waited. I was patient. And I ran out of patience,” Devine said.
DeWine said his declaration would allow passage of the Senate version of a bill that would have prohibited foreign nationals from contributing to Ohio ballot measures.
The proposal has been described as a “poison pill” in the fractured Ohio House, where Republicans rely on Democratic votes to pass some legislation.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Senate President Matt Huffman encouraged House leadership to allow a vote on House Bill 114.
“We agree with the governor. “It’s time to protect Ohio’s elections by outlawing foreign campaign contributions, while correcting the Democratic mistake that kept Joe Biden off the November ballot,” the statement said.
DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said after the governor spoke that a “clean” House bill that would change the ballot deadline on a permanent basis could also be considered.
Ohio House Democratic Leader Alison Russo said money from foreign donors via the X social platform is already illegal and the real issue is dark money going to candidates.
“GOP strategy: Change the rules when you can’t win,” Russo said. “They’re scared when citizens exercise their voice with direct democracy, so now they want to fully elevate citizens’ ability to fund ballot initiatives. Any talk of “foreign money” is a red herring.
State Democratic Party Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters accused GOP lawmakers of politicizing the process and denying Ohioans their rights.
“We must pass an Ohio anti-corruption law that would require dark money groups to identify their financiers, disclose their spending and strengthen the ban on foreign money laundering,” Walters said in a statement.
“In the meantime, Republican politicians who hold super majorities in both chambers of the Statehouse should put politics aside and pass a clean bill to put Joe Biden on the ballot,” he continued. “Despite the political gamesmanship of Republicans, we believe Joe Biden will be on the Ohio ballot.”
State House Speaker Jason Stephens, a Republican, said lawmakers have language banning foreign influence from ballot campaigns without affecting citizens’ rights.
“We look forward to passing both chambers next week with real solutions that address the issues,” Stephens said in a statement.
Republican JD Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, issued a statement calling the special session a “reasonable compromise.”
Vance expressed confidence that former President Donald Trump would defeat Biden even if he was in the polls, but he said, “If there isn’t a real presidential race, a lot of Trump voters will stay home, and that will really affect our ballot. Races for the Senate and Congress. We have to play chess.
Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex M. Triantaphilo said.
There was no immediate response by the Biden campaign to a message seeking comment.
Alabama recently changed its law and confirmed that Biden will appear on the fall ballot. The Alabama bill would have given the president similar benefits to what was given to then-President Donald Trump four years ago.
The last time Ohio lawmakers were ordered to return to Columbus was in 2004, under Republican Gov. Bob Taft, to consider campaign finance reform.
