President Joe Biden out; next steps for 2024 election

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — While the Indiana Election Calendar gives a July 15 deadline to withdraw, election law expert professor Derek Muller from Notre Dame Law School said that the deadline and another one for Aug. 1 are for state elections — and that exempts presidential candidates.

Muller said, “It’s very important to read those deadlines in context. None of those deadlines apply to the presidential election. The presidential candidates have till Sept. 10 to get their info to the secretary of state, so it won’t be a problem.”

Diego Morales, Indiana’s secretary of state, issued a statement in agreement.

“For the General Election (this November), Sept. 10, 2024, at noon Indianapolis time, is the deadline for the Indiana State Party Chair of the Democratic Party to certify the names of the party’s candidates for president and vice-president of the United States.”

President Joe Biden dropped out of the race Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

Muller said, “It’s not too late to add a presidential candidate to any ballot in the U.S. The Democratic National Committee had not yet held its convention.”

Ohio has an early presidential ballot deadline but moved it from Aug. 7 to Sept. 1 to accommodate the Democratic National Convention that’s happening mid-August. Still, Muller thinks Democrats will meet for a virtual roll call before the convention to select their candidate.

“It might be a process that’ll be before the convention in Chicago, and part of doing that is just to be extra careful to ensure they’re not out of compliance with a state like Ohio,” Muller said.

Another professor, Majorie Hershey from IU Bloomington weighed in. “I think the Democrats are very concerned that they’re not perceived as divided — that they have a unified effort on behalf of a Democratic ticket because the primary concern of most delegates to the Democratic party is to make sure we don’t have another four years of Donald Trump.”

While it’s not too late to add another Democratic contender aside from Harris, both professors agree that chances are very slim at this stage for another Democrat to get that 300 Democratic delegates needed for the Democratic nomination.

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