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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris wave May 29, 2024, during a campaign event at Girard College in Philadelphia. (AP)
President Joe Biden was the presumptive — not official — Democratic presidential nominee until he announced July 21 that he would be dropping out of the race.
The official nominee will be chosen either in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention that starts Aug. 19 or at the convention itself.
States set deadlines for receiving the names of presidential nominees so that ballots can be printed. Those deadlines are generally after the convention.
After President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race July 21, some social media users claimed his late announcement leaves no opportunity for some states to change their ballots to accommodate another candidate’s name.
An Instagram post said there are nine states "where Biden’s name can’t be removed and no one can be added. That’s over 130 electoral votes in the toilet."
It lists these states: Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
The post attributed the information to Grok, which is X’s AI chatbot.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
It’s wrong to say that Biden’s name can’t be "removed" because it hasn’t yet been placed on ballots. Biden was the presumptive nominee — not the official nominee. Election officials in the states listed in the Instagram post have said in written statements and in emails to PolitiFact that their deadlines for the party to submit its nominees’ names for the ballot have not yet passed.
Democrats are expected to choose their nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 19 to 22, or likely earlier — perhaps Aug. 7, in a virtual roll call vote. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who appears likely to get the nomination. Once that happens, the nominees’ names will be forwarded to state election officials, who will place them on the ballot.
Because there currently is no formal nominee, and because state ballot deadlines haven’t passed yet, legal experts say there’s no problem listing someone other than Biden on ballots. But Republicans may file legal challenges, and the U.S. Supreme Court could have the final say.
David Becker, executive director of The Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonprofit that works with election officials, wrote on X that statements that Democrats can’t "substitute" a nominee for Biden in several states is "100% false."
"Biden is not ON the ballot in any state," Becker wrote. "Dems don’t have a nominee yet. Once they do, after delegates vote, that person will be on the ballot in every state."
Alabama: Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement July 21 that major parties have until Aug. 23 to formally announce their presidential and vice presidential candidates to the secretary of state’s office, which will certify the candidates by Aug. 28.
Alabama law had initially set an Aug. 15 deadline — 82 days before the election — to confirm candidates. But because this was before the DNC, the state House unanimously passed legislation in May to extend the deadline.
Indiana: Secretary of State Diego Morales issued a statement July 22 confirming the Sept. 10 deadline for parties to submit candidates.
Michigan: Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a July 22 statement that presidential candidates appear on the ballot as a result of the party nominating conventions’ outcomes. Under state law, the nominees’ names must be delivered to Michigan’s State Department within one business day of the party convention’s conclusion, meaning an Aug. 26 deadline.
Minnesota: The deadline for parties to submit presidential and vice-presidential candidates to the secretary of state’s office is Aug. 26 — 71 days before the general election.
New Mexico: Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver on July 22 confirmed the state’s ballot deadline of Aug. 27.
"The ballot deadline has not passed in New Mexico," Toulouse Oliver said.
Ohio: The Ohio Legislature changed the ballot deadline to Sept. 1. Although the previous deadline was Aug. 7, the House passed legislation in May that extended the date.
Pennsylvania: Under the Pennsylvania election code, the presidential and vice presidential nominees selected at the Democratic National Convention will appear on the general election ballot as the Democratic candidates for president and vice president.
At least 70 days before the election, the secretary must provide the counties with names of all known candidates. This year, that date is Aug. 27.
Texas: As our partners at The Dallas Morning News reported and we confirmed, Texas state law sets a deadline of 74 days before the election for a candidate to withdraw and 71 days for the party to provide a replacement. That means that the Texas Democratic Party has until Aug. 26 to submit the names of its nominees.
Washington: According to state law, presidential candidates must be certified for the November ballot by Aug. 20, which falls before the Democratic National Convention.
But Washington secretary of state Spokesperson Derrick Nunnally told PolitiFact that state officials would accept a letter from the Democratic National Committee attesting to the party’s alternate nominee.
"This possibility was provided to accommodate the Democratic party’s stated nomination schedule after reviewing both state law and precedent from 2020," Nunnally said, noting that in 2020 both parties submitted "provisional nominations" because of a misalignment of the convention schedules and law deadline.
An Instagram post said that there are nine states "where Biden’s name can’t be removed and no one can be added. That’s over 130 electoral votes in the toilet."
But there is nothing to "remove" Biden’s name from because he was the presumptive nominee, not the official nominee. After the Democrats formally choose their official nominee — either at their Aug. 19 convention or before — state officials will receive those names to place them on their states’ ballots.
There is still time to add the name of the Democratic nominee.
We rate this statement False.
PolitiFact Staff Writer Madison Czopek contributed to this fact-check.
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Email interview, Amy Gulli, Pennsylvania Department of State spokesperson, July 21, 2024
Email interview, Matt Heckel, Pennsylvania Department of State spokesperson, July 22, 2024
Text interview with Angela Benander, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson spokesperson, July 21, 2024
Email interview, Alicia Pierce, Texas Secretary of State spokesperson, July 22-23, 2024
Email interview, Ben Kindel, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose spokesperson, July 22, 2024
Email interview, Laney Rawls, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen spokesperson, July 22, 2024
Email interview, Alex Curtas, New Mexico secretary of state’s office, spokesperson July 22, 2024
Email interview, Cassondra Knudson, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon spokesperson, ,July 23, 2024
Email interview with Derrick Nunnally, the Washington Secretary of State’s deputy director of external affairs, July 22, 2024
The Associated Press, Alabama lawmakers approve legislation to ensure President Biden is on the November ballot, May 2, 2024
Alabama Reflector, Alabama House committee approves bill to ensure ballot access for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, April 17, 2024
Fox10 News, Mobile, Alabama secretary of state issues statement on presidential election, July 21, 2024
Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, Information about Certification Deadlines for the Democratic Nominee - State of Indiana, July 22, 2024
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, Presidential Candidates, accessed July 23, 2024
Michigan Department of State, Secretary Benson, Attorney General Nessel issue statement on presidential ballot access, July 22, 2024
X post, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, July 22, 2024
Calfee, Ohio General Assembly Ends Rare Special Session With Bills to Address Presidential Deadline and Foreign Contribution Ban, May 31, 2024
Seattle Times, WA seeks ‘provisional’ certification to make sure Biden is on the ballot, April 12, 2024
Washington State Legislature, RCW 29A.56.360: Slate of presidential electors, accessed July 23, 2024
The Seattle Times, What Biden’s exit means for WA ballot, July 21, 2024
MSNBC, Stop panicking. Replacing Biden on ballots isn't a problem. July 21, 2024
Dallas Morning News, State ballot still open for new name, July 22, 2024
David Becker, executive director of The Center for Election Innovation and Research, post on X, July 21, 2024
The Associated Press, AP survey shows Kamala Harris backed by enough delegates to become Democratic nominee, July 23, 2024
Tech Crunch, What is Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot and how does it work? March 29, 2024
Wired, Elon Musk is all in on endorsing Trump. his AI chatbot, Grok, is not, July 18, 2024
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