Exclusive: CNN survey finds 48 states say Harris can get on ballot instead of Biden, rejecting claim switch breaks state laws
The findings of a CNN survey of all 50 states undercut the claims of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said both before and after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday that there are legal “impediments” in some states to a party switching presidential candidates as the Democrats did. There was not a single state election authority that told CNN Harris would face a ballot issue as the official nominee; election authorities in two states, Florida and Montana, did not respond to requests for comment, but a review of the states’ ballot access rules suggests Harris is not likely to face an issue there either.
Johnson, a lawyer, said on ABC News Sunday that “it would be wrong and I think unlawful in accordance to some of these state rules for a handful of people to go in the backroom and switch it out because they’re – they don’t like the candidate any longer.” He said on CNN Monday that “in some of the states, there are impediments to just switching someone out like that.”
But experts on election law say that is not true, since the Democrats never named Biden as the official 2024 nominee or submitted his name to the states as their 2024 nominee. And election authorities around the country have now confirmed – telling CNN or saying in public statements that Harris will not face any obstacles getting on their ballots if she is formally chosen as the Democratic nominee next month.
The 48 states (plus the District of Columbia) whose election authorities have said the official Democratic nominee will not have ballot issues include the seven states with the closest margins in the 2020 election, which are widely considered the key swing states again in 2024: Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan and Nevada. The 48 states also include the 15 states where former President Donald Trump, the Republicans’ 2024 nominee, had his highest share of the vote in 2020.
Johnson’s office did not respond to CNN’s requests to identify the “impediments” he claimed some states have.
Since Biden was never the official nominee, states say there’s no problem for Harris
The election authorities in 48 states and the District of Columbia offered highly similar comments explaining why Harris does not face any hurdles getting on the ballot there.
In general, they explained that they receive the names of a major party’s presidential nominee after the nominee is officially chosen by the party; that the Democratic convention has not been held yet (it’s scheduled for in-person events on August 19-22, with an official nomination vote to be held virtually earlier in the month); and that their state’s deadline for receiving the party nominees’ names has not arrived yet.
Patrick Gannon, spokesperson for the bipartisan North Carolina State Board of Elections, said in an email: “Political parties nominate their presidential and vice-presidential candidates at their conventions and then inform the State Board of Elections of those persons’ names. The Democratic Party has not yet had its convention, nor has it informed the State Board of its presidential and vice-presidential candidates’ names.When they do, those candidates’ names will be placed on the ballot.”
Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer for Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, wrote on social media: “So it’s understood, Biden dropping out will not impact Georgia ballots. As the Democrats haven’t had a convention, there is no ‘nominee’ to replace.”
Even the Republican election authorities of reliably pro-Trump states throughout the country definitively said Harris would not have issues there if she were chosen as nominee at the convention.
Chelsea Carattini, spokesperson for Republican Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, said in an interview: “There’s no issue. We basically just wait for the major parties to do their national conventions, and once completed, they send us the certificate of nomination for whomever is selected.”
Michon Lindstrom, spokesperson for Republican Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, said in an interview: “No, there is no issue with Kamala being on the ballot because Joe Biden was never the official nominee.”
Rachel Soulek, director of South Dakota’s elections division under Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson, said in an email: “South Dakota will have no issues with the Democratic Party’s nominations.”
Landon Palmer, a spokesperson for Republican West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, said in an email: “The candidate that will appear on West Virginia’s ballot in November will be the candidate that is nominated by the DNC. Presuming that is Kamala Harris, then there will be no issues.”
Laney Rawls, spokesperson for Republican Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, said in an email: “Major parties have until August 23, 2024 to certify to the Secretary of State’s office their Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates” under a provision of Alabama law Rawls identified. She added, “The Secretary of State’s office will certify lawfully submitted party certifications on August 28, 2024.”
Experts say issue is settled
CNN’s Tierney Sneed reported Sunday that Trump allies have discussed whether or not they have grounds to mount a challenge on the replacement of Biden with Harris, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
It’s impossible to say for certain whether a particular court in a particular state might rule that the state’s elections authority was wrong. But experts say that is unlikely.
Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor who is an expert on election law, said in an email: “Democrats do not have a nominee yet. The nomination formally happens at the convention. Any litigation before the convention challenging the identity of the nominee is about something that hasn’t yet happened. Any challenges after the convention would be challenges to a nominee who received the support of the convention delegates under convention rules. It’s essentially impossible to argue that the nominee is not the true nominee of the party at that point.”
CNN’s Marshall Cohen and Ethan Cohen contributed to this article.
Despite House Speaker Mike Johnson's claims of legal "impediments" in some states to swap presidential candidates, a review of the states' ballot access rules suggests that Kamala Harris is unlikely to face any issues there either. Experts on election law argue that the Democrats never named Biden as the official 2024 nominee, making it challenging to claim that it would be unlawful or wrong to switch candidates as Johnson suggested.
