Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday signed legislation to ensure President Joe Biden appears in the state’s November elections, a spokesperson confirmed.
The Republican-controlled state House passed the legislation earlier in the day on a 93-0 vote. The state Senate, which is also controlled by the Republican Party, approved it last month.
Charles Lutvak, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said in a statement to NBC News that Alabama “with full Republican support” “is already taking steps to ensure that voters can exercise their right to vote for the candidate of their choice in November.” .
“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states,” Lutvak said. “In election after election, states across the country have acted in accordance with bipartisan consensus and taken the necessary steps to ensure that presidential nominees from both parties will be on the ballot. And this election is no different.”
Republican secretaries of state in Alabama and Ohio warned that Biden might not appear on state general election ballots because the Democratic Party convention in August is scheduled to take place after state election deadlines.
Under legislation signed Thursday, Alabama’s certification deadline would be pushed back from 82 days before the general election to 74 days, a change that would accommodate the timing of the Democratic nominating convention in Chicago.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a letter Last month, state law required state and national Democratic parties to provide their office with a certificate of nomination for president and vice president by Aug. 15, four days before the Democratic convention begins on Aug. 19.
In April, Frank LaRose told Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters in a letter that the oversight could be rectified in two ways: either by the Democratic Party postponing its nominating convention or by having the Legislature “create an exemption to this legal requirement.” until May 9, according to State Law.
The Biden campaign last month pointed to the ability of state officials to “grant provisional voting access certification prior to the conclusion of presidential nominating conventions,” citing efforts in 2020 to allow provisional certifications in several states.
Democratic state Sen. Merika Coleman, who sponsored the bill, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night.
Alabama faced a similar problem in 2020 when state Republicans voted to ease the deadline to ensure President Donald Trump appeared on the ballot.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
