Battleground states absent hurdles to place Harris on ballot

Election laws in all seven battleground states will allow Democrats to place onto ballots the name of Vice President Kamala Harris, or another candidate if one materializes.

As President Joe Biden’s supporters rally around Harris to take his spot as the party nominee, Republicans are planning legal challenges. Biden announced his decision via social media Sunday afternoon, with one month until the Aug. 19-22 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada are commonly-labeled swing states. Collectively, there are 93 electoral college votes among them.

No opposition to Harris emerging since Sunday's social media announcement, Democratic delegates across the country swiftly moved to align support from a primary season where voters created enough pledged delegates for Biden.

Patrick Gannon, the public information director for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said the state’s laws will accommodate this change.

“County boards of elections [in North Carolina] start sending absentee ballots to voters who have requested them on September 6, which I believe is the earliest in the country,” Gannon said in an email to The Center Square.

He said that once the convention is held and the candidates are nominated, the ballots for North Carolina will be prepped.

“In general, our agency requests that candidate names be given to us by mid-August so that there is sufficient time to prepare, proof, and print the ballots before the September 6 distribution deadline for absentee ballots. We should be able to accommodate the Democratic convention schedule, especially since we know there is a Democratic Party line that will go on every ballot, and we are simply waiting for names to insert before ballots are printed,” he said.

North Carolina, which has 16 electoral votes, has been won by Republicans in all but two of the last 14 cycles.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has promised to sue if Biden drops out.

While Marguerite Bowling, senior communications manager, told The Center Square in an email that “the team is holding off on any media requests for now,” more is likely coming from The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.

“We have been preparing for this moment for months. Many in the media tried discrediting us. Who is laughing now? No more ‘make it up as you go’ elections. Stay tuned…,” said the Oversight Project in a statement on social media following Biden’s announcement.

Because Biden dropped out before becoming the official candidate of the Democratic Party, it does make it easier to replace him than if it had been after the Democratic National Convention.

Pennsylvania is the swing state with the most electoral votes (19) and a new candidate will have no problem being placed on the ballot, according to Matt Heckel, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of State.

“Under the Pennsylvania Election Code, the presidential and vice presidential nominees selected at the Democratic National Convention will appear on the general election ballot as the Democratic candidates for president and vice president,” Heckel said in an email to The Center Square. “Because the 2024 Democratic National Convention has not yet taken place, no nominees have been selected for the November ballot.”

It is the same in Wisconsin, where the Democratic Party has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, to inform the Wisconsin Election Commission of its nominated candidates for president and vice president.

Riley Vetterkind, public information officer for the Wisconsin Election Commission confirmed this information with The Center Square.

In other battleground states:

• Michigan (15 electoral college votes): The presidential candidate must be submitted within one business day of the party’s state convention or national convention, whichever is later. Ballots will be prepared beginning Sept. 6.

“Presidential candidates are certified to appear on Michigan’s general election ballot as a result of the outcome of their respective party’s nominating conventions," said a statement to The Center Square from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel.

• Arizona (11): The Democratic candidate can be changed up until 75 days before the election, which is Aug. 22.

• Georgia (11): Candidates must be submitted 60 days prior to Election Day, which is Sept. 6.

• Nevada (six): Normally, Democrats have until the fourth Friday in July, which is July 26, to nominate their candidates. But, due to an amendment passed in September 2023, major political parties now have until the first business day in September to submit names. This year, that's Sept. 3.