Dems UNCONVINCED with BIDEN’S PERFORMANCE
In the short time remaining to them, Democrats must choose whether to retain President Biden as the party’s nominee or choose a new candidate in order to minimize any confusion on the ballot in the general election.
Based on who wins the most votes from state delegates at their national party convention, both Republicans and Democrats formally select a candidate to represent their party on the general election ballot each presidential cycle.
Democrats will have to determine if Biden is their best chance to defeat former President Donald Trump in November or if doubts about his age and honesty outweigh his qualifications as a candidate with just one month until the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August.
However, printing millions of ballots with Biden’s name on them is even more tangible than designating him as the nominee.
A candidate must certify the chosen candidates to the secretary of state or director of elections in each state after being named the party’s nominee at their affiliated convention.
Each state has its own unique time period and process for validating a party’s presidential and vice presidential candidate’s name on the ballot before printing them. While some states permit the candidate to be filed at a later time, others demand that a party’s candidates be certified to the director of elections by the first of September.
The national party would select a replacement in the event that a nominated candidate was unable to proceed with the race. On the other hand, issues might occur if a new nominee was selected after states had started to print ballots bearing the name of the outgoing candidate.
In order to prevent any misunderstanding on the ballot, Democrats will probably need to decide whether Biden is their nominee before early September, as several states will start certifying the names to appear on the ballots in 2024.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) data indicates that states differ in the dates on which they send out ballots to voters.
Ballots are mailed to voters in the following states: Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin more than 45 days prior to the election.
