President Joe Biden will appear on Alabama’s ballot this November, after Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation to delay the state’s certification deadline to accommodate his official nomination at the Democratic National Convention.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen had told Democrats in April that he would “be unable to certify” the Democratic presidential ticket if the party did not submit a certification of nomination by Aug. 15, or 82 days before the general election, as required by state law. The DNC is scheduled to take place in Chicago from Aug. 19-22.
The Biden campaign had asked that Allen allow for provisional ballot access, but the first-term Republican had told CNN that there was no such thing under state law.
Legislation to delay the certification deadline from 82 days to 74 days breezed through the Republican-controlled Legislature, and Ivey signed it Thursday. The accommodation means Democrats have avoided what could have been a distracting legal battle over ballot access in a deep-red state.
Alabama lawmakers have made one-time adjustments for presidential tickets in the past, too. In 2020, they passed a bill to change the deadline that year so that then-President Donald Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence could be certified. Ohio’s secretary of state has issued a similar warning that Biden may miss the state’s deadline to appear on the ballot. The Associated Press reports that there doesn’t appear to be a state bill for an exemption to this year’s deadline yet, but neither party has ruled it out.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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