A Digital Leap: Nominating Biden Virtually to Ensure Ohio Ballot Access

Democratic National Committee (DNC) leaders are using a creative workaround to sidestep legislative barriers, and to make sure that President Joe Biden retains his spot on the Ohio ballot. A digitally enhanced roll call to nominate Biden will become the first of its kind in Ohio history.

The Move to Virtual: A Modern Solution to an Age-old Problem

The DNC’s preparations for a virtual roll call, which must happen before 8 August – the deadline for certifying candidates in Ohio – is not only a solution to the immediate logistical problems. It’s also an attempt at demonstrating that democracy can respond to fully unprecedented problems, such as legislative pandering. The move was forced by the Ohio state legislature’s resistance to push back the certification deadline without entangling it with other campaign finance legislation. This is the party showing its commitment and resilience to get its candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.

Why This Move Matters

This move is significant: in an age where so many things have pivoted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and where the DNC otherwise planned to nominate Biden and his vice-presidential running mate Kamala Harris virtually before their August convention anyway, there can be no dispute about the timing of Biden’s selection. ‘Bypassing partisan roadblocks to ensure that Ohioans have the right to vote for their preferred presidential nominee’ is the way the DNC Chair Jaime Harrison put it.

A Virtual Roll Call to Defy Partisan Tricks

Scheduled to precede Ohio’s certification deadline, the virtual nomination is a direct rebuttal to the DNC’s perception of partisan shenanigans and incompetence. It shows the Democrats’ commitment to land on their feet and it’s not a workaround – it’s a sign of the party’s innovation and a commendable commitment to every voter.

Lessons from 2020: Embracing Virtual Platforms

The move to virtual is not as unprecedented as it might appear: the 2020 convention, which nominated Biden and Harris over Zoom due to the pandemic, demonstrated that substantial party events could be conducted online without significantly losing the communal feeling and sense of collective purpose that physical events engender. The 2020 success story has, no doubt, given plenty of optimism that virtual nominations might be a workable substitute where traditional means are blocked.

The Fight for Ballot Access in Ohio

Hidden behind this move is Ohio’s pitched battle over ballot access: as a vital swing state, its electoral votes are a must-have for any US presidential candidate. The Ohio state legislature refuses to split its candidate certification deadline from other, unrelated campaign finance legislation that makes it difficult for candidates to be placed on the ballot, as is their constitutional right. By going digital, the DNC hopes to sidestep this problem and show the world that it considers American elections transparent and open to all.

Why Digital Nominations Could Be the Future

Such a gambit might later serve as a precedent for subsequent elections, changing how digital pathways can cut through legislative and logistical constraints. In the years ahead, as more and more people inhabit a digitised world, it’s not hard to imagine campaigners with bigger ambitions setting their sights on a greater goal: the universalisation of virtual nominations, a shift that could one day herald a revolution in the way candidates are nominated across the US.

The Next Steps in Political Innovation

The DNC’s decision to nominate its candidates by Zoom before an Ohio deadline is tactical now. But it could also point to a future that blunts logistical disadvantages – and maybe boosts democratic ideals – through greater participation in the electoral process enabled by technology.

Understanding the Move

Underneath all that, of course, is the simple act of using technology to accomplish a democratic mission – a tech manoeuvre meant to circumvent partisan deadlocks and logistical disabilities. By nominating Biden virtually, the DNC is saying that democracy must be adaptable – it must surmount pandemics as well as legislative gridlocks and technological challenges. Biden himself might come to symbolise something entirely different than what many people expected him to be. In the digital age, adaptability is a strategic advantage that no candidate can afford to lose.

These lessons and precedents will no doubt shape how political parties structure their campaigning, nomination and ballot access during future electoral cycles. The experiment of virtual nominations is the canary in the coalmine of a new electoral ecosystem: accessible, equitable and resilient to disasters.