{"id":2290960,"date":"2024-07-09T07:42:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T11:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legal-battles-loom-if-biden-withdraws-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-09T07:45:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T11:45:02","slug":"legal-battles-loom-if-biden-withdraws-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legal-battles-loom-if-biden-withdraws-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal battles loom if Biden withdraws &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flegal-battles-loom-if-biden-withdraws-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2290960&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the potential \u2064legal battles that could arise if Democrats successfully convince President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidency. Changing the presidential ballot, especially in battleground \u2063states, could be complicated due to varying election laws\u200d and processes. The article highlights the logistical challenges faced by the Democratic Party in nominating a new candidate and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-looks-to-potential-legal-action-against-ex-twitter-lawyer-who-suppressed-hunter-story\/\" title=\"House GOP Looks to Potential Legal Action Against Ex-Twitter Lawyer Who Suppressed Hunter Story\">potential legal actions<\/a> that could be taken by groups \u2063like\u200d the conservative\u2063 Heritage Foundation\u2019s Oversight \u2062Project. The article also explores different scenarios for replacing Biden and the implications of doing so late in the\u2064 election cycle. the\u200c article emphasizes the uncertainty and complexity surrounding the process of nominating\u2063 a new Democratic presidential candidate.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">\n<div class=\"tdb-search-form-inner\"><input class=\"tdb-head-search-form-input\" placeholder=\" \" type=\"text\" value name=\"s\" autocomplete=\"off\"><button class=\"wpb_button wpb_btn-inverse btn tdb-head-search-form-btn\" title=\"Search\" type=\"submit\"><span>Search<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Legal battles loom if Biden withdraws<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> <a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/ashley-oliver\/\">Ashley Oliver<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-07-09T07:00:00-04:00\">July 9, 2024 7:00 am<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1697756\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democrats<\/a> calling for President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joe Biden<\/a> to end his candidacy could face a series of logistical challenges if they are successful in convincing him to step down.<\/p>\n<p>Changing the presidential ballot is feasible, but it could come with its share of headaches and complications depending on the state and when and how the change is made.<\/p>\n<p>Battleground states are already sensitive to changes in election laws, which saw dramatic modifications across the country in 2020 in part because of COVID-19 policies. Some states have, since that time, made pivotal changes to their voting processes, while others have brought criminal charges against high-profile officials for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-says-killer-vladimir-putin-will-pay-a-price-for-election-interference\/\" title=\"Biden Says \u2018Killer\u2019 Vladimir Putin \u2018Will Pay A Price\u2019 For Election Interference\">alleged election interference<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Now, these same states could soon be confronted with one of their highest-stakes election dilemmas yet: how to legally change their Democratic presidential nominee weeks or months out from Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>The Democratic Party is struggling to coalesce behind its current nominee despite barreling toward its convention, which begins Aug. 19 in Chicago. There, Democratic delegates are set to nominate Biden, the 81-year-old incumbent whose declining mental and physical fitness has attracted an increasingly bright spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>Should Democrats attempt to move forward with pushing Biden out, Republicans are waiting in the wings to fight them on it in some of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-pro-democracy-party-keeps-backing-election-denying-extremists-in-key-races\/\" title=\"The \u2018Pro-Democracy\u2019 Party Keeps Backing Election-Denying Extremists in Key Races\">competitive swing states<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The conservative Heritage Foundation\u2019s Oversight Project has been leading the threat of legal action, publicizing a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OversightPR\/status\/1805239354505257196\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">memo<\/a> on the matter immediately after last month\u2019s presidential debate, the event that sparked the intraparty strife among Democrats. The memo, dated June 21, warned of a \u201ccontentious path\u201d to replacing Biden.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Howell, the Oversight Project\u2019s executive director, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> on Monday that his organization\u2019s motives were not political but instead were about enforcing laws in the wake of the 2020 election, when many states took controversial emergency measures to relax their election laws to allow for mail-in ballots, drop boxes, longer early voting periods, and more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur interest is not one of partisan or these politics games. Our interest is that the rules are followed, and we want to prevent another situation like 2020 where the rules were not followed,\u201d Howell said.<\/p>\n<p>Howell said that if a state allows for an \u201cimproper substitution or withdrawal, we will activate.\u201d He noted that he could see other groups, such as those backing third-party candidates, follow his group\u2019s suit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou could have a world in which RFK Jr., who\u2019s been in his own fight on ballot access issues with the Democratic Party, sees a reason to launch a fight, or Cornel West \u2026 or Jill Stein. I don\u2019t know who, but those are theoretically people with [legal] standing,\u201d Howell said.<\/p>\n<p>At the Democratic convention, delegates could under party rules nominate a different candidate, but nearly 4,000 delegates have pledged to support Biden, and the president only needs to secure a majority of those votes to become the nominee. Chicago\u2019s convention will be a grand affair, but this year the convention could also be largely symbolic as Democratic delegates are technically set to nominate Biden at a \u201cvirtual\u201d meeting on Aug. 7 because of complications with an Ohio voting law.<\/p>\n<p>If Biden were to withdraw, columnist Chris Stirewalt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aei.org\/op-eds\/gaming-out-a-biden-exit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>, the convention would become a free-for-all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no mechanism by which Biden\u2019s delegates would automatically \u2018transfer\u2019 to Vice President\u00a0Kamala Harris,\u201d Stirewalt wrote. \u201cShe would have to win at the convention, the same as any other candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He warned that an open convention would bring \u201craging waters of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Longtime Democratic National Committee member James Zogby has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jjz1600\/status\/1808312373083512881\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">floated<\/a> a proposal that involves Biden withdrawing and the national Democratic Party hosting a mini primary of sorts in which DNC members would choose their preferred candidate ahead of the nominating convention.<\/p>\n<p>Howell said his group would have to weigh how national Democrats approached replacing Biden and that he believes there is a narrow avenue for them to do it legally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is so extraordinarily fact dependent, right? It depends on how they do it and when they do it,\u201d Howell said. \u201cThere\u2019s a universe in which they could do it, and we would come to the conclusion that it was legal, that they did this the right way, but that obviously is not something we consider to be likely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Replacing Biden would wipe out completed primary processes, like the one that occurred in Wisconsin in April.<\/p>\n<p>While many states defer to the national party in the event that a nominee withdraws, the Oversight Project <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.heritage.org\/ballot_replacement_law_2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">compiled<\/a> an appendix of excerpts \u2014 which were pulled from<strong> <\/strong>arcane election laws that are different in every state \u2014 and pointed to problems that could arise from replacing a candidate so late in the election cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Wisconsin, for instance, stipulates that the name of the candidate who is nominated must appear on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/company-leading-arizona-recount-asks-court-that-procedures-be-kept-secret\/\" title=\"Company Leading Arizona Recount Asks Court That Procedures Be Kept Secret\">general election ballot<\/a> unless he or she dies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArguing for strict application of a [statute], like Wisconsin\u2019s which prohibits withdrawal except in the case of death, would likely bear some fruit,\u201d the Oversight Project\u2019s memo read.<\/p>\n<p>The Nevada Administrative Code <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/news\/politics-and-government\/nevada\/could-joe-biden-be-replaced-on-nevadas-ballot-3081017\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">allows<\/a> for Nevada Democrats to replace Biden as the nominee any time before Sept. 3, according to the <em>Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Nevada takes its cues from the DNC, which must provide the name of its chosen candidate to the secretary of state by that date.<\/p>\n<p>Nicole Kelly, a lawyer who has practiced election law, detailed the hypothetical process of replacing Biden.<\/p>\n<p>She said, in an ideal world, delegates would vote for Biden and then the president would end his candidacy after the convention but before the September deadline. Any changes after the September deadline would result in mayhem because Biden\u2019s name would be the one on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt becomes messier when you don\u2019t put the real nominee on the ballot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She said voters \u201ccould be confused,\u201d creating a scenario that would invite outside groups to challenge the process.<\/p>\n<p>Howell said he could see legal complications play out in both blue and red states, noting that some Republican-controlled states, such as Georgia, could have their own motivations to be \u201ccomplicit in an improper withdrawal and substitution for their own political reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3068503\/democrats-who-say-biden-should-drop-out\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">THE PROMINENT DEMOCRATS CALLING ON BIDEN TO DROP OUT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Georgia became ground zero in 2020 for election integrity concerns and was the first state to pass an election overhaul bill, which former President Donald Trump and his supporters claimed at the time was not strict enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a state like Georgia, where they\u2019re very weak on dealing with these election integrity issues, I could see them doing whatever is needed to accommodate the success of the campaign,\u201d Howell said.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1697756\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1697756\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legal battles could arise if President Joe Biden is convinced to withdraw from the presidential race, as changing the presidential ballot could be complicated and challenging, especially in battleground states that have already made significant changes to their voting processes. The conservative Heritage Foundation&#8217;s Oversight Project has warned of potential legal action if there is an improper substitution or withdrawal of Biden, and other groups may also challenge the process. Replacing Biden would require navigating state-specific election laws, and some states may have their own motivations for handling the situation in a certain way. The Democratic Party is facing internal strife over Biden&#8217;s candidacy, and if he were to withdraw, the convention could become a free-for-all with no guarantee that Vice President Kamala Harris would automatically become the nominee. The process of replacing Biden would need to be carefully managed to avoid confusion among voters and potential legal challenges<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2290961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/biden-north-carolina-scaled-1024x682.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3620,34319,32076,8050],"class_list":["post-2290960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-biden","tag-legal-battles","tag-washington-examiner","tag-withdrawal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/biden-north-carolina-scaled-1024x682.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2290960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2290961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2290960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2290960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2290960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}