President Joe Biden’s decision to suspend his re-election campaign likely won’t have major consequences for Pennsylvania election officials.
While Republicans have threatened to sue to force Biden’s name on the ballot since he dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, their lawsuits are unlikely to succeed in Pennsylvania or anywhere else in the country.
What’s more, Pennsylvania election officials have not yet begun preparing ballots for November, meaning Biden dropped out of the race early enough to avoid delays or administrative hassles.
Will Democrats be able to nominate their candidate in time to get on the ballot in Pennsylvania?
Although Democrats do not gather for the Democratic National Convention until August 19, the party is prepared to finalize its presidential candidates in a virtual vote before August 7.
This means that the Democrats will have a candidate before The nomination deadline in Pennsylvania is August 8.Even if Democrats need more time, Pennsylvania is giving candidates until Aug. 22 to file nominations if they need to fill vacancies caused by candidate withdrawals, as was the case with Biden.
The Democratic National Committee has set a goal of selecting a candidate by August 7 to avoid any state Republican Party legal challenges to their candidate.
When will ballot printing begin in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania’s election calendar sets an August 27 deadline for the Department of State to send each county board of elections a list of candidates.
If the candidate slate is finalized by then, Pennsylvania election offices could begin sending absentee ballots to voters on September 16.
However, the printing and mailing of ballots could be delayed if there are still energetic legal challenges to any candidate from either party. This could include GOP challenges seeking to force Biden’s name to appear on the ballot in his race against former President Donald Trump. It could also include challenges to the validity of independent or nonpartisan candidates who must collect signatures to gain access to the ballot.
Do legal challenges make sense?
Legal experts say if Republicans want to keep Biden’s name on the ballot in Pennsylvania or other states, those challenges are unlikely to succeed.
Talking about ABC this week on SundayHouse Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) argued that in some states it would be illegal to change the nominee at this stage.
“Fourteen million Democrats voted to nominate Joe Biden, so it would be a mistake, and I believe it would be illegal under some state laws, for a handful of people to go into hiding and change their candidacy because they no longer like it,” Johnson said.
State and national laws allow political parties to set their own rules for nominating presidential candidates.
David Becker, Executive Director Center for Electoral Innovation and Research, He said both political parties have well-established rules in case a candidate withdraws after the conclusion of the primaries in individual states.
He noted that Biden has never been the party’s official nominee and would not become one until a vote is held.
“These claims are far from frivolous,” he said of the Republican Party’s challenges.