FACT CHECK: Have Democrats Missed The Deadline To Remove Biden From The Ballot In Wisconsin And Other States?

Christine Sellers | Fact Check Reporter

A post shared on X claims Democrats have purportedly missed the deadline to remove President Joe Biden from the 2024 election ballot in Wisconsin, Georgia, and Nevada.

Verdict: False

The claim is false. Both Wisconsin and Nevada list a deadline of September 3 for getting candidates to appear on the ballot. Additionally, spokespersons for the Nevada and Georgia Secretaries of State denied the claim’s validity in respective emails to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll indicates 67% of Americans think Biden should drop out of the 2024 presidential race, the outlet reported. In addition, more than 85% of respondents think Biden is “too old for a second term,” according to the same poll shared by the outlet.

The X post claims Democrats have purportedly missed the deadline to remove Biden from the 2024 election ballot in Wisconsin, Georgia, and Nevada. The post was made in reply to a previous X post from Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, who said Democrats deserve to lose the 2024 election if they do not replace Biden as their party’s nominee.

“Cenk, the issue is the Democrats missed the deadline to remove Biden off the ballot in certain states like Wisconsin, Georgia or Nevada,” the X post made in response to Uygur’s post reads.

The claim is false. A memo shared to the Wisconsin Federal Elections Commission’s website indicates that candidates running for President must have their name certified by September 3 in order to appear on the state’s ballot.

“The names of candidates for President and Vice President for these parties are placed on the General Election ballot when their names are certified by the state or national chairperson to the Wisconsin Election Commission no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3, 2024,” the memo states. According to the memo, candidates must also file a statement declaring their candidacy with the Wisconsin Federal Election Commission by the same deadline.

Likewise, Nevada also has a September 3 deadline for the “major parties” to “tell the Nevada Secretary of State’s office the name of their candidates,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on July 5, citing a 2023 regulation added to the Nevada Administrative Code.

A spokesperson for the Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar’s Office confirmed the September 3 deadline in an email to Check Your Fact.

“Each major political party must provide the names of the party’s respective candidates for President and Vice President of the United States to the Secretary of State by not later than 5 p.m. on the first business day of September of the year of a presidential election. So this will be September 3, 2024 this year because September 2 is Labor Day,” the spokesperson said, referencing a regulation adopted by the Nevada Secretary of State’s office.

Similarly, a spokesperson for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s Office denied the claim’s validity.

“That is an inaccurate claim,” the same spokesperson said.

According to Georgia Code 21-2-153, candidates running for president qualify for the election “beginning at 9:00 A.M. on the Monday of the thirty-fifth week prior to the November general election in the year in which a presidential election shall be held and shall cease qualifying at 12:00 Noon on the Friday immediately following such Monday, notwithstanding the fact that any such days may be legal holidays.”

Furthermore, on July 11, PolitiFact reported the claim was false, though the outlet only fact-checked the claim regarding the deadline for Wisconsin’s ballot. The outlet also pointed out a loophole to the deadline, citing Wisconsin state law that would allow a potential “vacancy” to be filled in the event that a candidate were to die.

Check Your Fact has also contacted Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski’s Office for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.

Christine Sellers

Fact Check Reporter

Trending