Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) does not want the blame if President Joe Biden is not on the state’s ballot in the general election.
In a column published by The Wall Street Journal, LaRose said, “The Democratic Party’s antics after its failure to get Joe Biden on the ballot in Ohio are both entertaining and hypocritical. Since 2020 the political left has decried perceived attempts to manipulate laws governing elections as threats to democracy.”
“If you dared to question the electoral process—or worse, hired a lawyer to challenge it—you’d be politically persecuted as a traitor. You might even flip through talking heads on news channels declaring you constitutionally ineligible to appear on a ballot ever again,” he added.
However, LaRose claimed that was “yesterday’s script” and sarcastically said he is “today’s threat to democracy” for refusing to “bend the rules to benefit a candidate.”
“Unfortunately, state and national Democrats have given me no viable legal alternative. Here’s the issue: Ohio has a statutory deadline by which political parties that choose their presidential and vice-presidential candidates at a nominating convention have to certify those choices to my office before the names can appear on the statewide ballot,” LaRose explained. “The problem is that the Democratic National Committee scheduled its nominating convention to take place after Ohio’s statutory ballot access deadline. This has happened at least twice before in Ohio, for the presidential races in 2012 and 2020. In both instances the state Legislature passed a temporary extension.”
Current Ohio law requires the party’s to confirm their nominees 90 days before the election, which would be Aug. 7 this year. However, the Democratic National Convention when Biden is set to officially be nominated is not until Aug. 19.
LaRose noted the law establishing the deadline for a candidate was passed 15 years ago when Democrats were in the majority in the state legislature.
Additionally, he said state Senate Republicans are willing to change it — but not without “getting something for the effort.”
“Senators included a ban on foreigners’ contributing to political campaigns—a provision that Democrats refused, choosing to side with their noncitizen benefactors over their party’s presidential nominee. Meantime the state House adjourned before voting on a solution. Gov. Mike DeWine has called for a special session of the Ohio General Assembly to begin May 28 to pass legislation ensuring ballot access,” LaRose noted.
However, due to the lack of change as of Tuesday morning, he criticized Democrats, writing “Democrats have flipped the script. They used to say refusing to enforce election rules was a threat to democracy; now refusing to bend the rules is a threat.”
Finally, he said, “I believe it’s in voters’ best interest to have a choice in the race for president, from Donald Trump in Colorado to Joe Biden in Ohio. But I’m also duty-bound to follow Ohio election law.”
“For now, the law requires me to uphold a deadline the Democratic Party appears willing to miss. If as a result the Democratic candidates for U.S. president and vice president aren’t on the statewide ballot, that’s the party’s choice, not mine,” LaRose insisted.
