Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill Thursday to ensure President Joe Biden appears on the state’s November ballot, a spokeswoman confirmed.
The Republican-controlled Alabama House approved the bill earlier in the day by a vote of 93-0. The state Senate, also controlled by the GOP, passed the measure last month.
Charles Lutwak, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, told NBC News that Alabama “has already taken action to ensure that voters exercise their right to vote for the candidate of their choice in November,” with “full Republican support.”
“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states,” Lutwak said. ballot paper. This election is no different.”
Republican secretaries of state Alabama and Ohio have issued warnings Biden may not appear on the state’s general election ballot because the August Democratic convention is scheduled to take place after the state’s voting period.
Under the legislation signed Thursday, Alabama’s certification period would be pushed back from 82 days before the general election to 74 days, to coincide with the timing of the Democratic nominating convention. Chicago.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said about it letter last month, that state law requires the state and national Democratic Party to submit their presidential and vice presidential nomination papers to their office by Aug. 15, four days before the Democratic convention begins on Aug. 19.
Frank LaRose in April he said Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters said in her letter that the oversight could be fixed in two ways: either by the Democratic Party holding its own nominating convention or by getting the Ohio Legislature to “create an exemption from this legislative requirement” by May 9. properly state law.
Last month, the Biden campaign pointed to the ability of state officials to “issue provisional ballot access certificates before the close of presidential nominating conventions,” citing efforts to allow provisional certificates in several states in 2020.
Democratic state Sen. Merika Coleman, the bill’s sponsor, did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment Thursday night.
Alabama faced a similar challenge in 2020, when state Republicans voted to ease a deadline for then-President Donald Trump to appear on the state’s ballot.