Ohio state House passes Biden ballot fix bill despite DNC remedy

Ohio's state House passed two bills on Thursday -- one of which ensures President Joe Biden appears on the state's general election ballot in November despite the Democratic National Committee's announcement earlier this week that they would remedy the issue on its own.

The ballot bill delivers a temporary extension to the state's current ballot certification deadline of Aug. 7. Democrats were set to nominate Biden at the party's convention, which starts Aug. 19 -- meaning Biden wouldn't be eligible to make it on the Ohio ballot given the earlier August deadline.

More than 30 Republicans joined Democrats in passing that bill, which is now superfluous after the national party announced they'd virtually nominate the president ahead of Ohio's certification cutoff.

The Ohio House votes happened days after the state's Senate passed a bill that would both allow Biden to appear on their general election ballot in November, but also bar foreign contributions to ballot issue campaigns. The House voted on a separate bill that would bar foreign contributions to statewide ballot initiatives.

Democrats supported the Biden ballot fix bill, but made clear that they were doing so at "a cost" -- acknowledging that the special session called for the votes was focused on the second bill on foreign contributinos.

Democrats argued the foreign money bill jeopardizes Ohioans' right to organize and participate in political activity through issue campaigns.

Democratic Rep. Dontavius Jarrells said the ballot bill was "necessary" to ensure Biden appeared on Ohioans' ballots, but said he was "conflicted by the cost at which we achieve this goal."

"While it is imperative that we maintain a fair and democratic election process, we do so at the expense of the freedoms and rights that Ohioans currently enjoy," Jarrells said.

The foreign money bill passed on a party-line vote (64 Republicans, 31 Democrats). The legislation also included an amendment that prevented not only foreign nationals, but also green card holders from contributing to ballot issue campaigns.

"We all know that this special session has nothing to do with the governor being concerned about whether the president can get on the ballot or not. This session was convened on the basis that Ohioans should only have the right to vote for the sitting president of the United States if they are willing to trade away some of their other democratic rights," Democratic Rep. Dani Isaacsohn said.

Democrats have also expressed uneasiness with a portion of the foreign money legislation that would give the attorney general's office power to investigate potential foreign contributions if the Ohio Elections Commission sounds the alarm on a case.

Democratic members and citizens raised concerns that Ohio's attorney general would get "unprecedented power to enforce election laws" and might threaten upcoming ballot campaigns this fall.

"This bill uses vague language to create a culture of fear and confusion around engaging in political activity. It is a terrifying power grab by the attorney general," Isaacsohn said.

Its unclear either piece of legislation will be sent to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine this week, however.

Ohio's state Senate passed a version of a bill that combines both Biden's ballot access fix and the foreign money legislation. But the House passed only two separate bills addressing those issues on Thursday.

On Friday, when the Senate and House are set to reconvene, each could take up the opposite body's legislation. If they do not, the special session would end without anything pushing through both chambers.