Could it be payback for threatening Trump under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment? Two Republican Secretaries of State, from Alabama and Ohio respectively, have threatened to remove Joe Biden from their state presidential ballots.

The reason? Technical rules that set strict deadlines for the certification of presidential nominees. The Democratic National Convention, slated to commence on August 19, is four days after Alabama’s certification deadline of August 15. 

Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State is citing similar state laws from its jurisdiction that also clash with the DNC’s schedule. 

Rules are rules, right? 

Shouldn’t Democrats just change the schedule of their convention? Alabama noted in its letter to Democratic officials, after all, that notice of this requirement has been available since June 2023. 

“[I]n the context of a Presidential election, state-imposed restrictions implicate a uniquely important national interest.” – Anderson v. Celebrezze (as cited to by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Anderson, better known as the Trump 14th Amendment case)

In Trump’s 14th Amendment case, the justices were concerned about a “patchwork” of disparate state actions that could have massive national implications on a presidential election. 

If Alabama and Ohio were to proceed with enforcing their strict technical deadline rules, they would be doing just that: disenfranchising millions of voters all because scheduling was off by a few days.

The fact they would even make the threat is telling. Instead of offering to provisionally certify a candidate due to scheduling issues, or to work with their respective state legislatures to pass a minor exception, both Republican Secretaries of State put the onus solely on the DNC to reschedule their certification or else. 

Nuclear option.

All over a few days. 

This is why it makes me think that it’s not about the technical deadline rules. It’s about “sticking it to the libs.” It’s about payback.  

Why am I so sure? 

This is not the first time a party’s national convention schedule conflicted with certification deadlines under state election laws. 

In 2020, the Republican National Convention faced a similar predicament to what the DNC faces now. The RNC hosted their convention a few days after Alabama’s certification deadline. This did not stop Alabama lawmakers from swiftly passing legislation to accommodate the RNC’s schedule, ensuring then-President Donald Trump’s and Vice President Mike Pence’s appearance on the ballot.

The Biden administration also noted: “In 2020 alone, states like Alabama, Illinois, Montana, and Washington all allowed provisional certification for Democratic and Republican nominees.”

Yet both the Ohio and Alabama Secretaries of State act like the current DNC predicament is the end of the world. If Biden misses the deadline, he’s gone from the ballot. Done. End of story. 

What are we doing here?

What happened to putting substance over form? What happened to collaborating and cooperating with those we disagree with to find workable solutions that work for everyone? 

Compromising. 

Should the DNC have checked state laws a little better before scheduling their certification? 

Yes.

But that doesn’t mean you threaten them with the nuclear option of removing Joe Biden from Ohio and Alabama state ballots before attempting to find a workable solution. 

This is especially true when there’s a history of your state finding workable solutions on the same issue in the previous election cycle. 

I worry about retribution. That all of the efforts by Democrats and lawmakers to throw the rule of law at Donald Trump will boomerang back at them. Not that I haven’t agreed with most of their attempts to enforce the law (with a few exceptions). 

But in that environment, technicalities like certification deadlines become political weapons. Democracy be damned. 

We have to call out antidemocratic actions–from either side–for that very reason. Early and often.

In this case, the answer should be clear: find a scheduling solution that certifies nominees properly and timely, while upholding substantive democratic principles and not disenfranchising millions of voters in the process. 

How Republicans handle this and similar issues during this election season will reveal how much they care about democratic principles.