How long could Joe Biden withdraw his candidacy?

Since the president’s failed debate with Donald Trump, calls have been growing within the Democratic ranks to propose an alternative candidate.

Will Joe Biden really be the Democratic candidate to face Donald Trump in the November 5 presidential election? After a series of calls for withdrawal within the Democratic ranks, another influential face of the party, California representative Adam Schiff, has also urged the American president to “passing the torch”, Wednesday, July 17. That same day, a survey conducted by the Associated Press with the NORC center at the University of Chicago found that 65% of Democrats surveyed shared his wish.

At this point, Joe Biden maintains that he is perfectly fit to be a candidate, despite a failed performance against his populist and conservative rival in a televised debate in late June. The Democratic leader nevertheless showed an early openness on Tuesday to the possibility of withdrawing in the event of a problem. “medical”. “If someone, doctors came to see me and said: ‘you have such and such a problem'”he might decide to throw in the towel, he told BET News. How long could the 81-year-old candidate really decide to step down, with the election set for November 5?

The Democratic convention, held from August 19 to 22 in Chicago, is a key date for Democrats: this is when Joe Biden (with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate) must officially be designated as the party’s nominee. However, another problem arises before this deadline: in the state of Ohio, any presidential candidacy must be certified 90 days before the election, or by August 7, recalls the New York Times.

To ensure that Joe Biden appears on the ballot in that state, several Democratic Party figures have announced an early vote to confirm the incumbent president’s official candidacy before the convention. The details have yet to be determined, but Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz told reporters that the vote would be held between August 1 and 7.

Ohio’s August 7 deadline has finally been extended, but Democrats prefer to maintain early voting, out of distrust of the state’s Republican authorities, NBC News reports. The beginning of August therefore appears to be a major deadline for a hypothetical withdrawal of Joe Biden’s candidacy. Democrats are also criticizing the acceleration of his nomination, a month before the convention.

Hurry up. “I think if he were inclined to step down, he should do so as early as possible before the convention, so the party can determine who wants to run,” Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings think tank and a member of the Democratic National Committee since 1997, told Politico.

The equation will become much more complex after the end of the Democratic convention on August 22. In the event that Joe Biden decides to withdraw after his nomination, “The Democratic Party chairman would convene the Democratic National Committee”explains Elaine Kamarck. The approximately 400 members of this body would then vote for a new candidate. “Would that lead to a lot of political wrangling? Probably. Or maybe they would just say, ‘It’s easier and safer to nominate the vice president,'” Kamala Harris, continues the researcher.

Such a situation after the convention would be “delicate”, estimates Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, to Votebeat. Add to that the deadlines for candidates to register on the ballot as the election approaches, which vary from state to state.

In Arizona, for example, a new application could be accepted by August 30, according to the secretary of state’s spokesperson. However, within this southwestern state, some counties have set their own deadline, such as Maricopa County, where the deadline will be August 22. In Pennsylvania, again according to Votebeat, counties must receive the names of candidates by August 27. For Wisconsin, certifications must take place by September 3.