President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, but that doesn’t mean he’s already been guaranteed a spot on the November ballot in California.
According to state election law, the ballot for the general election hasn’t been set yet, which means Biden’s name on it is not yet set in stone. He’ll have to receive his party’s nomination in order for that to happen.
Political parties qualified to participate in the election in California have until Thursday, Aug. 22 — more than a month out from now — to submit their nominees to the state secretary of state. That’s the final day of the Democratic National Convention where the party will name its presidential nominee.
Once nominees are submitted, candidates will be certified on Thursday, Aug. 29, which also marks the deadline for the secretary of state to notify each county elections official of the list of every candidate for public office who is “entitled to receive votes within the county,” per the state’s election calendar.
That’s the final list of names that will be printed on the ballots, which must go out to military and overseas voters between 45 to 60 days before an election, according to the secretary of state, and no later than Oct. 7 for all other active registered voters.
But a candidate could, theoretically, bow out after they’re certified to go on the ballot and after ballots have been printed with their name on them. When asked what would happen in that situation, the secretary of state’s office deferred to a previous statement: Candidates certified on Aug. 29 will appear on the general election ballot.
Richard Hasen, a professor at UCLA School of Law and the director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project, said late changes to ballots could be a legal issue.
“It gets much dicier once the nomination has been transmitted and there’s the potential for litigation to try to make a change,” he said.
Questions about what could happen to states’ ballots cropped up after politicians, high-dollar donors and influential celebrities called for Biden to step aside following his poor debate performance in June. So far, close to two dozen congressional Democrats have publicly called for Biden to step aside, and this week, several Democrats expressed support of a letter addressed to DNC members asking them to “cancel any plans” to virtually nominate Biden before the convention.
On Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff became one of the most prominent Democrats in Congress to publicly call for Biden to pass the torch. He has “serious concerns about whether the president can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Schiff, D-Burbank, said in a statement.
Other Democratic lawmakers from Southern California have also said that Biden should exit the race, including Reps. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano; and Scott Peters, D-San Diego. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, has reportedly expressed this privately.
