Even before President Joe Biden’s long-speculated withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, allies of former President Donald Trump floated the possibility of suing to block Democrats from having anyone other than Biden on the ballot in November.

But election administration and legal experts said the timing of Biden’s exit on Sunday makes it unlikely that any Republican ballot access challenges will succeed, with some calling the idea “ridiculous” and “frivolous.” Democrats are on safe legal ground as they identify a new standard-bearer, they say, because the party hasn’t officially chosen its nominee. That typically occurs with a vote of delegates at the party’s convention.

It’s ridiculous for people to talk about ‘replacing Biden.’ He hasn’t been nominated yet,” said Richard Winger, a leading expert on state ballot access laws and the longtime editor of the “Ballot Access News” newsletter.

  • takeda@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    They absolutely have no legal basis, my only worry is that they have activists in SCOTUS which showed us multiple times that they don’t care what the Constitution says.

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      There may be an issue with Ohio. The deadline for getting on the ballot the is like 2 days before the DNC, and we won’t officially know who the nominee will be until after the convention.

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zip
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      Exactly.

      It used to be the case that sane people with a modicum of understanding of our government/legal system, or even the ability to do a bit of research, they could just laugh this off.

      But uh, nope, now we live in corrupt/activist Supreme Court era, which throws out decades of precedent and functionally invents new laws as it pleases.

      • Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world
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        What I love about Clarence Thomas is he is giving us the road map to oppressive systems we have to take down. He has observed the unspoken rules and has codified them into law with his rulings. When Clarence gets exorbitant gifts for his influence it’s not because he’s greedy, we’ll it is, but it’s also him saying, “these are the rules, I get rewarded because I have the seat of power.”

        Clarence is not a secret freedom fighter but he might as well be because he is shining a light and exposing the ugliness that is our judicial system.

    • dragontamer@lemmy.world
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      Historically speaking, we Americans usually ignore what the SCOTUS says. Virginia was practically segregated into the early 1970s, for example, well over a decade after Brown v Board of Education.

      That’s the hilarious part of the SCOTUS. They kind of don’t matter.


      The response to an unjust SCOTUS is to ignore them. Like what are they actually gonna do about it?

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          Step 1 of the plan is to at least make people aware of the plan.

          There’s more options available than expanding the court or whatever. Ultimately, the reigns of power largely rest in Congress and the President. Supreme Court is the moral center, they’re only effective if people believe their judgements to be moral and just. Otherwise, their statements are just fancy words on a piece of obscure paper.

          Supreme Court has no ability to write laws or enforce them.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    It’s stupid enough that Ohio demands that the nominee be on the ballot before the convention and even they give a deadline after August.

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    You know as they say: if it looks ridiculous and sounds ridiculous, it’s most likely the GOP.

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    Given the bizzaro timeline we’re in it would not surprise me to get a crazy outcome:

    • GOP lawsuit wins, forcing the ballot to be Biden
    • Biden wins the general election, immediately resigns and…
    • Harris is the President.

    What would be really hilarious is, I think that would allow her to serve two more 4 year terms after her 2025-2029 term ends because she would not have run as President the first time.

    • excral@feddit.org
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      What would be really hilarious is, I think that would allow her to serve two more 4 year terms after her 2025-2029 term ends because she would not have run as President the first time.

      That’s incorrect. The 22nd amendment states: “no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once”. So unless Biden would wait for at least two years before stepping down, Harris could only be elected for one more term.

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        Thanks for this. I was going to correct them, but didn’t really wanna type out and reference why they were wrong. You are a champion.

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    Given where we are now, it seems obvious that you would let the delegates pick the candidate, but it’s sort of strange that The People don’t actually get any say in who the candidate is. Kamala will get the nomination from the ruling class alone. It’s an option that could be used to circumvent the democratic process. Something to keep an eye on.

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    This may well work for the repubs, though.

    They want dictatorship, not representative-republic ( falsely-called “democracy” by us foolish peons ).

    Legalism, which the christ they pretend to be aligned-with, repeatedly railed against, calling its devotees “Hypocrites!”…

    https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=hypocrite&version=AMP

    I believe that in the gaslighting-about-being-aligned-with-christ republican territories … they’re going to get that result to happen…

    Which only could have been prevented had the dems put Harris in the race months ago…

    _ /\ _

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    They already made it public that they will do everything to invalidate democrat votes and that they won’t accept any outcome that isn’t a Trump win.

    It’s going to be Jan 2021 but worse again.

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      Friendly reminder to check your voter registration. Many states are un-registering voters for dumb reasons.

      • Dizzy Devil Ducky@lemm.ee
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        Thankfully I’m in the clear where I live. Got some mail in ballets for a different election for everyone in my apartment. Just hoping that nobody tries to do like what was done last time and have republican mail people dump the mail in votes somewhere random. Luckily it wasn’t anywhere near my neck of the woods, but I’m always worried it’ll happen.

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        Why is this even a thing in the USA? In Belgium, everyone over the age of 18 just gets a letter in the mail. Making people go for tedious registration and what not sounds very undemocratic to me.

        • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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          That’s because it is! Just one of the thousands of many little ways the American Republicans have made life worse for everyone, including their own. Gerrymandering and tampering with voter registration are historically Republican strategies that serve no purpose other than voter disenfranchisement. They can’t win a popular vote and they know it, so their best strategy is to prevent people from voting in the first place. Hence their history of arcane voter registration rules, disgustingly absurd gerrymandered districts, removal or last-minute changing of acceptable voting locations in Democratic areas, voter intimidation, even active voter endangerment via refusal of water bottles during summer heat - not as in they wouldn’t give you water at the voting lcoation - no, you aren’t allowed to have water, even if you brought your own, even if someone showed up and tried to donate water to you. They took it right out of our hands. Meanwhile we were standing in a line in a parking lot with no shade in 96F weather for multiple hours because local republican leadership also shut down all other democratic voting locations within an hour’s drive.

          It is disgustingly undemocratic, dangerous, abusive and frankly it’s embarrassing. These are not politicians, these are spoiled little children stamping their feat and screaming “no, I get to be king, and you have to go home!” They actively will not associate with the word “democracy” anymore because it’s too close to accidentally being called a Democrat.

          If you’ve noticed Americans being a little more pissy than usual recently in the last several years, it’s largely because people are starting to open their eyes to this truth. It’s nothing new, but it is starting to get noticed. Trump flipped over a big ol’ rock and suddenly everyone saw all the worms and slugs squirming underneath.

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            I actually caught myself mouthing “What the fuck” at the water part of your comment. That’s some third world country shit. Everyone’s entitled to water, it’s the most basic human right. How would one argue that a ruling like that benefits the people?

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              Their argument, such that it is, argues that Democrats are running the country into the ground and that they cannot be allowed to make decisions for other people. Not that the people should be allowed to govern themselves, no, the people should only be allowed to vote for things that are “in their best interest” as defined by Republicans.

              Which is, obviously, horseshit. But a semi-significant percentage of our population eats up the anti-Democrat messaging and keeps enough of them in office that they can continue fucking with human rights without retribution.

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              “ThEy’Re BuYiNg VoTeS wItH wAtEr!”

              I’ve never heard about not being allowed to bring water, but I’ve definitely read about not being allowed to hand out water/sell water.

              There is no legitimate reason, only excuses to cover for their bullshit.

        • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
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          Why is this even a thing in the USA?

          Belgium has a population of only 11.7 Million, a population density of 387 per square kilometer, and a whopping 98.8 percent of the population is Urban.

          We have 30 times your population, 1/10th of your population density, and 20% less of our population is Urban.

          The United States has 28 Million people, more than twice your entire population, that MOVES every year. Over a million people immigrate into the United States every year, meaning we could literally populate your entire nation in just a decade.

          All of that means you cannot simply “send everyone a letter”.

          It’s like the old saw “Everything works fine in a small network.” So no offense but relatively speaking Belgium is a tiny network compared to what we’ve got going on in the United States.

          • calcopiritus@lemmy.world
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            USA is big therefore they can’t have good things is bullshit.

            USA has a lot of people to send mails to, but it also has a lot of people to collect taxes from, those taxes pay for the mails.

            The cost to send mails should scale linearly with population, just like taxes. Therefore economics is not a problem. If anything, more mails should mean cheaper per mail since economics of scale take place to bring down costs.

            Logistics isn’t an issue either. Just tell each state to sort it themselves. Each US state has roughly the same population as European countries, and they manage the logistics.

            • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
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              Each US state has roughly the same population as European countries, and they manage the logistics.

              Yes, and it works at the State level…which is precisely why I drew the parallel to European Countries.

              HOWEVER I wasn’t asked about States sending them. Every comment I replied to was asked in the context of the FEDERAL Government.

              Threaded comments are not new tech, figure it out.

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            Colorado handles it just fine. Sounds like you’re making excuses for your state, don’t lump all the states in with yours.

            • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
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              We aren’t discussing a single state and if we were then Colorado has a population half of Belgium.

              Everything works fine in a small network.

              • tyler@programming.dev
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                We literally are discussing single states. The Federal government doesn’t run the voting, it’s individual states that do. So all voting improvements literally happen at an individual state level.

                Everything works fine in a small network.

                what a hilarious excuse for your state being shitty. This is such a tired and untrue trope it isn’t even funny anymore, it’s just sad.

                • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
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                  We literally are discussing single states.

                  We are literally not. You need to scroll up and review.

                  “Why is this even a thing in the USA?” - Federal Government Question

                  “Does the IRS send a letter to everyone in the USA every year?”

                  Those are the questions I was asked and responded to.

                  The Federal government doesn’t run the voting, it’s individual states that do.

                  Yes, I’m aware of how our election system works. You should try figuring out how threaded comments work.

        • Billiam@lemmy.world
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          On the surface, it’s not bad. If, for example, you move from one state to another, your previous state may not know you don’t live there anymore. So if they see you haven’t voted in that state for a while, they’ll assume you don’t live there and remove your name from their registration.

          The problem is, as usual, how it gives conservatives in the US cover to remove legitimate voters. If you haven’t moved but also haven’t voted for the last several election cycles, you might get removed even if you intend to vote in this election. And you can see how that’s a short jump to “Oh no, we accidentally removed a whole bunch of people who were going to vote against us and darn it, wouldn’t you know there’s no way to fix this in time!”

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            If, for example, you move from one state to another, your previous state may not know you don’t live there anymore. So if they see you haven’t voted in that state for a while, they’ll assume you don’t live there and remove your name from their registration.

            They always know, especially if you’re paying your taxes correctly. Try moving to Colorado. You’ll get registered immediately without doing anything and your ballot will be mailed to you. You don’t ever have to do anything in person.

            There’s no reason to unregister someone from voting. In any state.

            • Billiam@lemmy.world
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              Try moving to Colorado. You’ll get registered immediately without doing anything and your ballot will be mailed to you.

              In Kentucky, you have to go register yourself. And unless KY tells CO you’ve registered there, they wouldn’t know.

              • tyler@programming.dev
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                And unless KY tells CO you’ve registered there, they wouldn’t know.

                ? And why would that matter?

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        I would have bet on a more drastic response to a mob attacking an official building in the first place. But that didn’t happen either.

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          That’s for sure. Every one of those fuckers should have gone directly to jail that night. If that had been a George Floyd protest they would have just opened fire.

          • pastel_de_airfryer@lemmy.eco.br
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            That’s what we did in Brazil.

            Bolsonaro’s clowns pulled that same shit over here and almost two thousand of them were in jail by the end of the day.

        • dragontamer@lemmy.world
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          Donald Trump controlled the DC National Guard on January 6th 2021. Joe Biden (or maybe Kamala Harris, if Joe steps down early) will control the DC National Guard in 2025.

  • Maple Engineer@lemmy.world
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    They should have been running on a platform instead of grievance politics. Then it wouldn’t matter who they were running against.

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    In 13 states the deadline for petitions for specific independent candidates has already passed. But, in at least 20 states the rules clearly allow Democrats and Republicans to do whatever, whenever.

    If RCV magically appeared then the Green Party would be winning this one with AOC. Most aren’t as stupid as we think. They only lack practical alternatives. I believe harm reduction would be a second choice for so, so many.

    But, RCV isn’t going to magically appear; Even if a politician wanted to, none can save us from the system; And, harm reduction simply isn’t good enough anymore. The only way we progress is by doing much, much more than voting.

    • Baron Von J@lemmy.world
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      AOC and the squad have shown that Progressives can win on the Democratic ticket. Voters just need to turn out in the primaries to get their candidates nominated.

      • SirDerpy@lemmy.world
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        Progressives can win on the Democratic ticket

        Is that what happened to the Sanders campaign, twice? Are you certain there’s not a SCOTUS ruling where the DNC admits their tactics?

        • Baron Von J@lemmy.world
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          Bernie received fewer votes in the primaries but succeeded in motivating more progressives to run and now we have the Squad. Just because he didn’t win the nomination doesn’t mean he didn’t have any success at all. Change takes time and consistent effort.

            • Baron Von J@lemmy.world
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              I’m out here voting in the major party primaries to get better candidates. You’re voting for for a party that has never won a single electoral vote (no 3rd party has won a single electoral vote since Wallace in 1968) and expecting that to somehow convince the actual winners to change the rules in your parties favor then blaming the Democratic party for the Republican party winning. Pretty sure it’s not my head in the sand.

              • SirDerpy@lemmy.world
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                I’m out here educating others about choices they could make.

                You’re voting

                No, I’m not.

                You’re out here making assumptions about me and believing everyone else is too stupid to choose for themselves. It doesn’t even register for you that the rules unfairly limit choices because they favor your choice. Fuck everyone else: You got yours.

                It’s just like the fascists you’re running from. Well done.

                • AmidFuror@fedia.io
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                  How does you not voting make your case any better? It’s even less effective than voting third party.

                • Baron Von J@lemmy.world
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                  I’m out here educating others about choices they could make.

                  And I’m pointing out the historical and statistical futility of either voting 3rd party or not voting as a means to break away from the current Democratic/Republican stranglehold.

                  You’re out here making assumptions about me

                  That’s fair, I did infer from your post advocating for ACO as a Green party candidate that you were voting for Green party. My bad. You did just clearly say you’re not voting. Which, like, how do you expect to achieve your goals then? What’s your concrete plan of action to win by not participating?

                  and believing everyone else is too stupid to choose for themselves

                  No, I’m saying voting 3rd party or not voting isn’t going to unseat the current Democratic/Republican parties and to run those progressive candidates in the Democratic primaries as a more effective means to the desired end.

                  It doesn’t even register for you that the rules unfairly limit choices because they favor your choice. Fuck everyone else: You got yours.

                  Bernie was on the primary ballot, I voted for him, he lost. They didn’t favor my choice. My choice lost. I did not “get mine.” That doesn’t mean I didn’t have a choice. I’m not saying the DNC did no wrong. But he did, in fact, receive fewer votes. And the only things that limit my possible choices are who has actually declared/registered to run on the primary and my willingness to register to vote and actually turn up to vote.

                  I want RCV to be a reality so that 3rd party candidates will be viable. But I can acknowledge the reality that I won’t get RCV by voting third party or by not voting. I will only get it by electing representatives who will fight for it in my stated government, and 3rd party candidates just haven’t been able to win any state/local elections where I live. So I’m voting in the primaries of the two parties who have a statistical chance of winning to get there. And I need more people to do the same in order to “get mine”.

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        AOC showed a progressive can win in an area that was +45% for Biden in 2020. I don’t know how many conclusions you can draw about a national run from that.

        • Baron Von J@lemmy.world
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          Wow it’s too bad I only mentioned AOC and nobody else …

          We have progressives from multiple states now than we did 10 years ago, and their success should motivate more progressives in more states to run in their local primaries. Change takes time and consistent effort. Primary turnout sucks so we get what was chosen for us by a few if we don’t show up.

        • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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          She wins because she represents the people in her district well and understands them on an intrinsic level. She is them.

          • AmidFuror@fedia.io
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            That’s precisely the point I’m making. Remember this is in the context of Derpy saying the Greens and AOC would win nationally if there were RCV.

            • Baron Von J@lemmy.world
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              How do you propose achieving RCV without taking over the 2 major parties through their primaries? Honest question. Voting for 3rd parties in the general isn’t achieving that goal. Not voting only tells the majors parties and incumbents you don’t have an opinion they have to listen to because one of them will still win without it. You’re never going to get a watershed shift to the left by focusing only on the presidential race with a third party. Bernie’s Democratic party primary campaigns did more for the left than 3rd parties have done in the last 50 years (no 3rd party presidential candidate since Wallace in 68 has received a single electoral vote) by getting more progressives to run in Democratic primaries.

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                I was only commenting on the idea that with RCV, AOC and the Greens would win the Presidency this year. I think RCV is a good idea. I don’t know how to achieve it. The nice thing about it is that states and municipalities that adopt it don’t put themselves at any kind of disadvantage, so it doesn’t have to happen all at once.

                • Baron Von J@lemmy.world
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                  👍I would absolutely love if we had RCV nationwide. Also compulsory voting, mail-in ballot as standard nationwide, a mandatory “none of the above” option for every elected office, and a requirement that an actual majority of eligible voters is required to win the race (which should be possible through the combination of RCV and compulsory voting). But that takes either a Constitutional amendment or a coordinated and prolonged effort within each state to take over the legislatures.

  • RageAgainstTheRich@lemmy.world
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    Maybe don’t have a platform where the only thing you do is shit on the other person and call them kindergarten level nicknames? What a bunch of snowflakes.