President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be nominated by Democratic National Committee delegates virtually prior to the party’s August convention to ensure the ticket will be made official ahead of Ohio’s ballot deadline.

The move comes as Ohio lawmakers met Tuesday for a special session called by the state’s Republican governor to adjust the Aug. 7 deadline for getting candidates on the November ballot. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be nominated by Democratic National Committee delegates virtually prior to the party’s August convention to ensure the ticket will be made official ahead of Ohio’s ballot deadline
  • The move comes as Ohio lawmakers met Tuesday for a special session called by the state’s Republican governor to adjust the Aug. 7 deadline for getting candidates on the November ballot
  • The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago
  • Democrats nominated Biden and Harris virtually in 2020 when the convention was held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic

“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio and all 50 states, and Ohio Republicans agree. But when the time has come for action, they have failed to act every time, so Democrats will land this plane on our own,” DNC Chair Jamie Harrison said in a statement. “Through a virtual roll call, we will ensure that Republicans can’t chip away at our democracy through incompetence or partisan tricks and that Ohioans can exercise their right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice.”

ABC News was first to report on the decision.

Neither the party nor the Biden campaign said when the virtual meeting of delegates will occur, only that it would hold the nominating process before Ohio’s deadline. The final Democratic primary contests will be held in four states and Washington, D.C., on June 4 and then in Guam and the Virgin Islands on June 8.

The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will vote on the proposed changes on June 4, which will then be voted on by the committee’s over 200 members at some point in the weeks that follow. Then the virtual nomination will be held.

The convention in Chicago will go on as scheduled, with the party emphasizing it will still serve to be a focal point for Democrats as they head into the fall. 

Democrats nominated Biden and Harris virtually in 2020 when the convention was held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Ohio on Tuesday, lawmakers were meeting for a rare special session called by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to address the deadline issues. Since Ohio changed its certification deadline from 60 to 90 days ahead of the general election, state lawmakers have had to adjust the requirement twice, in 2012 and 2020, to accommodate candidates of both parties. Each change was only temporary.

Negotiations between House and Senate on a solution to Biden’s ballot conundrum began Friday. State Rep. Bill Seitz told reporters during a conference call that he and state Sen. Rob McColley, both Republicans, are leading the talks, with no resolution announced as of Tuesday.

The Senate sent its version of the ballot fix to the House after attaching a prohibition on foreign nationals donating to Ohio ballot campaigns, stopping it in its tracks.

DeWine urged legislators to pass the combination measure during the special session, but Democrats have balked, saying the proposal goes beyond the foreign nationals ban to add requirements intended to make it more difficult to mount future ballot campaigns in the state.

That’s after Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved three ballot measures last year, including a constitutional amendment protecting access to abortions that Republicans opposed and an initiated statute legalizing adult-use marijuana.

“Once again, Republican politicians at the statehouse are playing politics with our democracy by trying to prevent Ohio voters from choosing who they want to be president, but Democrats will not trade Ohioans' ability to hold their government accountable for presidential ballot access,” Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters said in a statement. “Just like when they attempted to take away our rights and freedoms last year, Ohio Republicans have shown their blatant disregard for the rights of voters, and we won’t let them get away with another effort to hold our democracy hostage."

A “clean” House bill containing only the adjustment to Ohio’s ballot deadline may also be considered.

Due to differing interpretations of the proclamation DeWine issued Thursday, the Ohio Senate scheduled a single day of activity for Tuesday, while the Ohio House plans to begin with two days of committee hearings before taking its vote Thursday.

A Senate spokesman has said it’s possible the upper chamber can convene Tuesday and then recess to wait for the House.