Fact-check: Post says there are 9 states where Biden’s name can’t be removed. That’s False.

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.

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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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