The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has announced plans to virtually nominate President Joe Biden ahead of the party's convention due to an impasse in the Ohio state Legislature that prevented a resolution to secure Biden's place on the November ballot.
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison revealed that Democrats will conduct a virtual roll call to ensure Biden's nomination, according to NBC News.
The decision came after Ohio state lawmakers met for a special session aimed at addressing Biden's ballot access issue.
"Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio and all 50 states, and Ohio Republicans agree. But when the time has come for action, they have failed to act every time, so Democrats will land this plane on our own," Harrison said in a statement.
"Through a virtual roll call, we will ensure that Republicans can't chip away at our democracy through incompetence or partisan tricks and that Ohioans can exercise their right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice," he added.
Historically, Ohio's certification deadlines have preceded both parties' nominating conventions, typically resolved without conflict. However, this year, the Democratic National Convention starts on August 19, missing Ohio's August 7 certification deadline.
Due to this, Senate Republicans proposed a bill allowing a one-time extension for Biden's certification, combined with a ban on foreign contributions to state ballot initiatives.
Democrats opposed the inclusion of the foreign money ban, seeing it as a political maneuver. But state Senate President Matt Huffman said that many Republicans opposed a standalone extension bill, fearing their constituents would view it as an unjustified favor to Biden.
The state Senate, in a party-line vote, then passed the two-pronged bill, allowing Biden on the ballot while also banning foreign money in state ballot initiative campaigns.. However, the Ohio House ignored this bill, leading to the current stalemate.
The special session on Tuesday was called by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to resolve this issue.
It remains unclear how the DNC's plan to virtually nominate Biden will impact the special legislative session, which is scheduled to run through at least Thursday. Some lawmakers are advocating for a permanent solution to prevent future nomination deadline conflicts for either party.
