Alabama officials have passed a bill to ensure President Joe Biden will have access to the state’s November ballot after Republican State Secretary Wes Allen warned that he may miss a deadline to be certified.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the bill—sponsored by Senator Merika Coleman, a Democrat—into law shortly after it passed the state House with a 93-0 vote on Thursday, a spokeswoman told The Associated Press.
“This is a great day in Alabama when in a bipartisan manner, we passed this legislation to ensure that President Joe Biden gains access to the ballot in Alabama,” Ms. Coleman said in a statement.
The general election for president and vice president is scheduled to be held nationwide on Nov. 5, 2024. Accordingly, the 82nd day preceding this would be August 15, 2024. This date falls four days before the Democratic National Convention, where delegates select the party’s nominees for president and vice president, is set to begin, the Republican said.
The legislation will now amend the deadline to allow President Biden to appear on the state’s ballot. The Alabama House Democratic Caucus said the bill’s passage “signifies a collaborative success and a victory for the democratic process.”
“The most important thing is that we’ve been able to fix the issue quickly and I look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle to work on a permanent solution, since this has affected both political parties over the years as convention dates often change,” House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels said in a statement.
“This legislation had unanimous support from the Alabama House Democratic Caucus, as well as our colleagues in the Senate Democratic Caucus. This bill ensures that Alabamians will be able to vote for the candidate of their choice,” he added.
The Biden campaign said that the president will appear on the ballot in all 50 states, according to The Associated Press.
“Election after election, states across the country have acted in line with the bipartisan consensus and taken the necessary steps to ensure the presidential nominees from both parties will be on the ballot,” it stated.
In Ohio, the deadline is 90 days before the general election, which is Aug. 7 this year. President Biden is expected to be formally nominated for reelection at the Democratic National Convention, which will be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Alabama has one of the earliest candidate certification deadlines in the country, which has caused difficulties for whichever political party has the later convention date that year.
Former President Donald Trump faced the same issue in Alabama in 2020.
The Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature passed legislation to change the certification deadline for the 2020 election to accommodate the date of the GOP convention.
