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Deadlines for parties to certify their candidates for the general election
If a nominee dropped out of the race and was replaced by his or her party, what kind of ballot access obstacles might they face?
States require political parties to submit names of presidential candidates in order to certify them for the general election ballot. Some states have earlier deadlines than others because of
early voting and
voting by mail and absentee voting. As of February 2016,
34 states offered early voting in some form or another, and several states allow voting as early as late September.
[2] (Three states (
Colorado,
Oregon and
Washington) use all-mail voting systems, thereby eliminating the need for early voting.)
The bulk of the dates for certifying the names of major party presidential candidates are in August and September. The Democratic and Republican parties, then, would have until about mid August to find a replacement nominee and still be able to get his or her name on the ballot in enough states to be competitive in November. For example, if a nominee dropped out in late August, his or her name would already be certified to appear as their party's candidate for president in about 20 states. If he or she dropped out in late September, that number rises to almost 40 states.
Replacing a candidate's name in late September could prove challenging. The parties would likely have to look to the courts. As Politico noted on August 4, 2016, the courts have shown a willingness to work with the parties on the issue of deadlines: "Courts have tended to discard ballot deadlines in favor of having two parties represented on the ballot.”
[3] In 2002, for instance, the
New Jersey Supreme Court allowed Democrats to replace their nominee for a U.S. Senate seat 15 days after the certification deadline.
[4] In addition to this, election officials in the states have been known to show some leeway on the deadlines.
Richard Winger, an expert on ballot access laws, told Ballotpedia by email, “even when major parties have missed deadlines for certifying presidential and vice-presidential nominees, or presidential elector candidates, election officials have always set the deadline aside.”
[5]
