MONTGOMERY — Unless a change or deadline extension is made, the names of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris may not be on Alabama ballots in the November general election.
Wes Allen, Alabama’s Secretary of State, said Tuesday he notified the Alabama Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee they must provide a certification of nomination for President and Vice President of the United States no later than Aug. 15 to appear on Alabama’s general election ballot.
“It has recently come to my attention that the Democratic National Convention is currently scheduled to convene on August 19, 2024, which is after the State of Alabama’s statutory deadline for political parties to provide a certificate of nomination for President and Vice President,” Allen wrote in a letter to Randy Kelley, chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. “If this Office has not received a valid certificate of nomination from the Democratic Party following its convention by the statutory deadline, I will be unable to certify the names of the Democratic Party’s candidates for President and Vice President for ballot preparation for the 2024 general election.”
A copy of the letter was also sent to Jaime R. Henderson, chair of the Democratic National Committee.
256 Today left a request for a comment for Kelley.
Allen said, according to Alabama code, parties must certify their candidates “no later than the 82nd day preceding the day fixed for the election.” Because the general election is Nov. 5, the 82nd preceding day would be Aug. 15, four days before the National Democratic Convention is scheduled to begin, according to a news release from Allen’s office.
The release said the certification deadline has been on the official Secretary of State website at sos.alabama.gov (http://sos.alabama.gov/) since June 2023.
The National Republican Convention will convene July 15 and is expected to conclude July 18, nearly a month before certifications are due to be submitted to Allen’s office.
“If those certificates are not in my office on time, there will be no certification and no appearance on the Alabama general election ballot,” Allen wrote. “With this letter, we are providing ample notification to the leadership of the Democratic Party at the state and national level that the burden of providing those certifications by the statutorily set deadline is a requirement that they must meet.”
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