Legal Challenges Surrounding President Biden’s Re-election Decision
Hours before President Biden announced he would not seek re-election, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled the possibility of a legal challenge — a warning that election law experts say would only stand if Biden is the official nominee.
“Every state has its own election system,” Johnson told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday, just before Biden made the announcement a few hours ago. “In some of these states, replacing the person in the top job is a real obstacle.”
The Timing of Official Nomination and Legal Challenges
However, the ticket doesn’t become official until next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Election law experts say changes made before then would not pose a legal challenge.
“Joe Biden was never the official nominee of the Democratic Party,” election law expert Rick Hasen told the Daily News in an email Sunday night. “As long as Democrats pick their candidates in a timely manner, the likelihood of any legal challenges to their presidential and vice presidential candidates appearing on the ballot is extremely slim.”
As the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported Friday, the “election system” issues Johnson cited would come into play if a nominee is replaced after the deadline to designate a formal nominee and the ballots have been printed. Most of these deadlines are in August or September.
Speculation and Reaction from Both Sides
Still, Johnson also hinted that Democrats may be up to something.
“Joe Biden was elected through a long, ‘small’ Democratic process, by 14 million people through primaries,” Johnson told Tapper. “Look if the so-called democratic party, the Democratic Party, is going to get in somewhere ‘s chamber and then switch it out and have someone else be on top, it’s going to be interesting I think they’ve hit a legal roadblock in some of those states and I expect they’re going to file lawsuits there and they’re going to. This problem must be solved.”
Democrats have promised nothing but “behind the scenes” processes.
After Biden’s announcement, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison said in a statement: “In the coming days, the party will engage in a transparent and orderly process as a united Democratic Party with a leader who can “The process will be governed by the party’s established rules and procedures. Our representatives are prepared to take seriously their responsibility to deliver candidates to the American people quickly.”
Originally published: July 22, 2024 10:55 am
