Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine calls special session over Biden’s ballot access
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday called a special session for the state’s Legislature to get President Joe Biden on the ballot this November, saying his patience has “run out” with his fellow Republicans who appear less than inclined to offer a legislative fix for a timing problem with the Democratic convention.
âThe Legislature had [a] session yesterday and again failed to take any action. This is simply unacceptable,â DeWine said in remarks to the press. âOhio is running out of time to get Joe Biden, the sitting president of the United States, on the ballot this fall. Failing to do so is simply not acceptable. This is a ridiculous â this is an absurd situation.â
âThe purpose of this session will be for the General Assembly to pass legislation ensuring that both major presidential candidates will be on the Ohio ballot in November, as well as legislation that would prohibit campaign spending by foreign nationals,â DeWine said.
NBC News has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment on DeWine’s remarks.
The late date of this year’s Democratic convention, at which Democrats are set to certify Biden as their nominee, comes after Ohio’s statutory deadline to certify presidential candidates for its November ballot. In the past, such issues have been handled with quick legislative fixes, but a number of Republican legislators have balked this year.
The special session will start on Tuesday.
DeWine expressed anger at lawmakers from his party in the state House who have not appeared to make significant efforts to place Biden on the ballot.
“The Senate has passed several bills that would remedy this situation,” DeWine said. “However, the House of Representatives has failed to do this.”
The office of state House Speaker Jason Stephens, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
DeWine has been at odds with the GOP-dominated state Legislature in the past. In 2021, lawmakers voted to limit his authority to issue public health orders. By votes of 23-10 in the Senate and 62-35 in the House, legislators overturned his veto of a bill that aimed to give them more power to reject his moves. The override set up a power struggle with DeWine, who had mandated masks and balanced other social distancing regulations against the reopening of schools and businesses.
Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters blasted “corrupt GOP politicians” in a statement after DeWine’s announcement.
“Meanwhile, Republican politicians who hold supermajorities in both chambers at the statehouse must put politics aside and pass a clean bill to put Joe Biden on the ballot,” Walters said. “Despite Republicansâ political gamesmanship, weâre confident Joe Biden will be on the Ohio ballot.â
Ohio used to be considered a vital swing state, but it has trended to the right in recent elections.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump won the state with about 53.3% of the vote, compared to Biden’s 45.2%. Four years earlier, Trump won with 51.8% to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 43.7%. President Barack Obama won the state in 2012, marking the last time a Democratic presidential nominee has won Ohio.
