Minnesota presidential ballots have not been finalized, secretary of state says
MINNEAPOLIS — In the wake of President Biden ending his reelection campaign Sunday, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon in a statement Tuesday shot down what he called "misinformation" circulating on social media that presidential ballots in Minnesota and other states have been finalized.
"This is not accurate," he said. "Minnesota law makes it clear that major political parties have until August 26, 2024 to report the names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the November 5 General Election."
After Mr. Biden said he would no longer run for a second term, Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race and is the likely Democratic nominee after receiving the requisite number of endorsements among delegates to become the nominee, though it is not official yet.
States have different deadlines for candidates to formally be placed on the ballot. Some allies of former President Donald Trump have floated legal challenges to keep Mr. Biden at the top of the ticket, according to CBS News.
But Democrats will likely proceed with virtual roll call vote of the delegates as early as next week to lock up the nomination before the in-person Democratic National Convention in mid-August. The DNC rules committee, on which Gov. Tim Walz serves as co-chair, will meet on Wednesday to discuss how to move forward.
David Becker, a CBS News contributor and the executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, told CBS News that as long as Democrats leave their convention with a nominee, they will meet ballot deadlines in all 50 states.
Simon said his office will provide the list of major and non-major political party candidates to local election offices after the Aug. 26 deadline to "ensure officials have enough time to prepare, proof, and print ballots."
Early voting begins on Sept. 20 for the general election on Nov. 5.
But before that happens, Minnesota has a primary on Aug. 13.
High-profile races include a fight to become the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate to take on Sen. Amy Klobuchar and a rematch between U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels, trying to unseat Omar as the Democratic nominee for the Fifth Congressional District.