If a presidential nominee drops out, what happens to states’ ballots?

A voter fills out their ballot at a polling location at Bedford High School on Jan. 23, 2024 in Bedford, New Hampshire. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The Electoral College could help Democrats avoid a complicated situation in the event President Joe Biden withdraws from the race after his name is printed on ballots.

States Newsroom reporters and editors in the network’s 39 states explored how a presidential candidate could be replaced on ballots — should the nominee drop out or become unable to continue their campaign following the party conventions.

While there were wildly varying answers, and some states won’t even contemplate the possibility, numerous officials pointed to the Electoral College process.

How that process works is often not well understood. When U.S. voters head to the polls the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November, they technically vote for electors, not the candidate.

Those electors then vote for a presidential candidate based on the results of the popular vote in that state, or in certain congressional districts.

The Electoral College is the reason on election night, maps show the race based on 270 electoral votes, not the countdown to one of the candidates winning the popular vote.

The somewhat complicated process made headlines eight years ago when Donald Trump won the Electoral College but not the popular vote and again four years ago when Trump allies sent slates of “fake electors” to Congress in an attempt to push aside the official results.

This year, with Democrats increasingly uneasy about Biden’s age and mental state following his debate performance, the system could provide a safety net of sorts in the event Biden withdraws after he becomes the party’s official nominee: The electors could potentially vote for someone else, presumably another Democrat.

In Louisiana, for example, Deputy Secretary of State for Communications Joel Watson Jr., said the “nominees for president and vice president are not the candidates who are elected on November 5th, the people running for presidential elector are.”

Iowa Secretary of State spokesperson Ashley Hunt noted that how electors vote in December is not governed by the state’s election statute, aside from signing a pledge when appointed to those positions by their party.

“All of that of course would be subject to any legal action required by courts to the contrary,” Hunt said.

Legal tangle

Election experts warn that it is nearly certain lawsuits would proliferate if a presidential candidate drops out late in the campaign, and the outcome very likely would be in the hands of the courts rather than state election officials.

Emory Law professor Alicia Hughes said during an interview with States Newsroom that such a scenario would be “a complicated mess with an unpredictable outcome that very likely could end up at the steps of a very conservative United States Supreme Court.”

With “unequivocal certainty,” Hughes said, lawsuits would be filed in both state and federal courts to challenge the process, potentially leading to very different rulings in state, federal district and federal appeals courts.

“What usually happens when you have situations where there are conflicts between state laws and the application of federal law by state courts …. is the Supreme Court grants cert, and they will take these things up as a matter of judicial review,” Hughes said.

“And given the importance of dates that we have fixed by our Constitution — with our 20th and 25th Amendments, dealing with the dates of certifications and different things that are required to take place for us to get a president inaugurated on January 20 — it would be expedited,” Hughes added.

‘Faithless electors’

There have been several calls for overhauling or eliminating the Electoral College in the past couple of decades, especially after President George W. Bush and Trump were elected without winning the popular vote in 2000 and 2016, respectively.

The Electoral College includes 538 possible votes from electors, who are often loyal to their party. Those people then meet in their states in December to vote for a presidential candidate.

Congress will certify the results on Jan. 6, 2025.

But the United States has some history of so-called “faithless electors,” who simply don’t cast their Electoral College vote for the candidate that voters in their state or congressional district chose.

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service points out in a report that: “Political parties select elector candidates with the expectation that those electors will support the party’s presidential nominee. However, the Constitution and federal law do not address whether electors’ votes are bound to particular state-level or party loyalties.”

This raises the question of what would happen with electors in the fall of 2024 if Biden has given up on his reelection bid and whether they could shift to an alternate candidate.

Some states have fined electors who cast ballots for a different candidate and the Supreme Court has upheld that practice, but each state differs and some electors could simply accept the fine.

The National Conference of State Legislators writes in a brief on the Electoral College that generally “electors are selected by the political party for their party loyalty, and many are party leaders who are unlikely to vote for anyone other than their party’s candidate.”

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming all have laws addressing faithless electors, according to NCSL.

‘Wild, wild west’

Hughes said in the remaining states there’s not “that obligation as an elector.”

“So that makes it the wild, wild west,” she said. “But then the question becomes what are the repercussions” if electors vote for another candidate.

Even in states with penalties for faithless electors, a conviction would only result in a misdemeanor and the fines don’t typically exceed $2,000, she said.

“So people really don’t have a heavy incentive, even in those… states and the District of Columbia to go along with the popular vote of your state,” Hughes said.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission writes in a report on the Electoral College that faithless electors “are rare and have never decided the outcome of an election, but they are worrisome in this time of close electoral margins.”

“The other weakness of the Electoral College system is the amount of time it takes to complete the process and the death or resignation of a president-elect,” the report states.

The report goes on to note that “(c)onstitutional scholars believe that electors are free to vote for any candidate they wish once they are appointed. However, faithless electors are unlikely because the political parties submit the names of their own electors, and those coveted spots are reserved for party loyalists who are unlikely to defect.”

Confusion seen

Heritage Oversight Project oversight counsel Max Matheu said switching out a party’s nominee within 45 days ahead of the election, after military and overseas ballots go out, could create confusion among voters and possibly among the electors as well.

It would also be a different process in each state.

“If Biden wants to withdraw under the DNC rules, that’s fine — 33 states defer to DNC rules on substitution and nomination,” Matheu said. “It probably would be a nothingburger in those states.”

“But there are other states, like Wisconsin, that have mental incapacity issues that have to be essentially asserted to the Secretary of State to say, ‘Hey, here’s why this candidate is no longer going to be the nominee,’” he said.

That would bring up 25th Amendment issues about Biden continuing to serve as president, he said.

Should Biden withdraw as the candidate after state deadlines have passed and after ballots are printed, Matheu said, there would very likely be lawsuits filed in state and federal courts.

“The reason why this is all kind of a patchwork, and there’s a lot of confusion, even among the experts, is that it’s 50 different states,” Matheu said. “So it’s not going to be a clear-cut issue one way or the other.”

The possibility of swapping another candidate in for Biden gets much more complicated the closer the country gets to election day, he said.

“I think that’s why there’s so much interest right now in whether or not he’s going to pull out earlier rather than later,” Matheu said. “Because it’s much easier for him to do it now.”

The view from the states

Because presidential elections are administered by the states, there are varying deadlines for when the national parties have to certify their presidential nominee, when that person could withdraw and when electors are chosen.

Here is what election officials throughout the country told States Newsroom about when their deadlines are this year and how their Electoral College process could be affected. 

Alabama: The Secretary of State’s office wrote in an email that major parties have an Aug. 23 deadline to certify their presidential and vice presidential candidates. Those would be certified by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen on Aug. 28.

“Under Alabama law, there is no mechanism available for a political party to withdraw or substitute their presidential candidate after they have been certified to the Secretary of State,” Laney Rawls, a spokesperson for Allen, wrote.

Alaska: The deadline for political parties to submit names of electors is Sept. 1, with the withdrawal deadline for general election candidates the following day, according to a timeline of the 2024 election.

If a candidate were to drop out after the ballots are printed, the Alaska Division of Elections “would work with (the state) Department of Law to determine our next actions,” according to division Operations Manager Michaela Thompson.

Arizona: State law allows the chairman of the state Democratic Party up to 10 days after the July 30 primary election to submit nominations for the slate of presidential electors that will appear on the ballot for the party’s nominee.

Were Biden not the party’s nominee following the Democratic National Convention, which is set for Aug. 19-22, Democrats would have until Aug. 30 to submit new electors for a new nominee, according to JP Martin, spokesman for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

Any later than that, Fontes said, and the state would be in violation of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or UOCAVA, which governs voting by Americans living outside the country.

Arkansas: Chris Powell, spokesman for Secretary of State John Thurston, wrote in an email that the state does “not have legislation that deals with Presidential candidate withdrawal.”

“The political parties will certify their candidates to us after their convention,” he said. “Our statewide deadline to officially certify all candidates and ballot issues to the counties is August 22nd.”

“Each county prints their own ballots, so I’m not sure exactly when they are printed but there are a couple deadlines by which they have to be printed,” Powell said. “September 19th is the deadline for a county board of election commissioners to deliver absentee ballots to the county clerk for mailing to all qualified applicants.”

Colorado: Every registered voter receives a ballot by mail. Oct. 4 is the last day for general election ballots to be printed this year, and county clerks will begin mailing them Oct. 11.

If the Colorado secretary of state’s office receives formal withdrawal paperwork from any candidate after ballots are printed, state law says any votes cast for that candidate “are invalid and shall not be counted,” according to Jack Todd, spokesperson for the secretary of state.

Write-in candidates for the general election in Colorado must have filed an affidavit of intent by July 18. Write-in votes for candidates, including for president, who have not filed the affidavit will not be counted.

Florida: Ballots are sent to military and overseas voters by Sept. 21, with vote-by-mail ballots for domestic voters sent between Sept. 26 and Oct. 3, according to a timelinefrom the Secretary of State.

Georgia: Ballots for the Nov. 5 election must be ready by Sept. 17, which is the first day for local election officials to mail ballots to overseas residents and members of the military.

In the event that a candidate withdraws from an election after ballots have been printed, prominent notices are displayed at polling places. However, a presidential candidate withdrawing presents an unprecedented circumstance, since votes are being cast on behalf of the party’s presidential electors instead of the candidates listed on the ticket, according to Georgia Secretary of State spokesman Mike Hassinger.

Substitute nominations are made according to the party’s procedures for handling withdrawals, deaths, or disqualifications, Hassinger said.

Idaho: Rob McQuade, assistant chief deputy to the Idaho secretary of state, and Jason Lehosit, deputy secretary of state, stressed that because the Democratic National Committee will have its convention Aug. 19-22, the state would have time to adjust to a new nominee if the Democratic Party nominates someone other than Biden.

The Secretary of State’s Office must certify all candidates for the general election ballot by Sept. 6, Lehosit said.

“I’m not going to get too worked up over it because of the timing of the convention,” Lehosit said. “The convention is in the middle of August. That’s going to be done in plenty of time for (the Democratic Party) to transmit us the names.”

“I would say when you’re looking at the 50 states, I don’t think we’re going to be an issue,” Lehosit said. “They have their convention Aug. 19 through Aug. 22. If they do change their presidential candidate, I’m sure it’s going to be in that window. They’re going to notify us who to put on the ballot, and it’s not going to be a problem for us.”

Indiana: If a candidate certified as part of the Democratic, Republican or Libertarian Party’s presidential ticket ceases to be a candidate after ballots are printed, their names will remain on the ballot.

Indiana code says the nominee’s successor must be certified in the same manner as the original candidate, but “the ballots must reflect the original nominee’s name, and any vote cast in the election for the original nominee shall be considered a vote for the successor.”

Matthew R. Kochevar, the Democratic co-general counsel of the Indiana Election Division, said all votes cast for the presidential ticket with the former candidate’s name on the ballot will count for the successor candidate.

“That is because while voters are voting on the ticket, in actuality, voters are voting for the slate of electors the party certified to the election division, and by law those electors, if elected to cast Indiana’s electoral votes, are pledged to support any successor candidate at the elector meeting.”

Iowa: There is not a process for withdrawing a name from the ballot after the applicable withdrawal deadline, according to Ashley Hunt, spokesperson for the Iowa Secretary of State.

For the general election, the deadline is 81 days prior to the election, or on Friday, Aug. 16, for state and federal contests. Once the deadline has passed, all certified names will appear on the ballot.

An example in Iowa was the 2018 Democratic primary for governor. Candidate Nate Boulton suspended his campaign two weeks before the primary election. His name still appeared on the ballot and was canvassed.

The vote for president and vice president is actually a vote for the Electoral College electors. If a presidential or vice presidential candidate withdrew or died after the withdrawal deadline, their name would remain on the ballot.

How the electors would vote in December is not governed by Iowa’s election statute, aside from signing a pledge when appointed to those positions by their party, Hunt said. “All of that of course would be subject to any legal action required by courts to the contrary.”

Kansas: There is no filing deadline in Kansas for presidential and vice presidential candidates, who are selected at party conventions, but the parties must certify a slate of six electors to the Kansas Secretary of State by Sept. 1.

Under Kansas law, as outlined by the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, a candidate can withdraw from the ballot after Sept. 1 only if the candidate dies or suffers a “severe medical hardship” certified by a physician. The candidate’s political party must provide a substitute candidate for the ballot, if ballots haven’t been printed yet.

Ballots are printed 45 days before the general election — this year, the date is Sept. 15. If a presidential or vice presidential candidate withdraws after voting starts, the electors would choose a substitute.

Candidates for national office can be forcefully removed from the ballot only if they don’t meet the eligibility requirements of the U.S. Constitution: a natural born citizen over the age of 35 who has lived in the U.S. for 14 years.

Kentucky: If a presidential nominee were to withdraw from the race, it would be treated like any other candidate withdrawal, said Michon Lindstrom, a spokesperson for the Kentucky secretary of state’s office. The candidate would still appear on ballots, but polling places would display signs saying he or she is no longer a candidate.

Kentucky’s certification date for the presidential race is Sept. 9, as independent candidates have until Sept. 6 to file for election.

Louisiana: Joel Watson Jr., deputy Secretary of State for communications, noted the “nominees for president and vice president are not the candidates who are elected on November 5th, the people running for presidential elector are.”

The qualifying period in the Pelican State ends at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 23, with the candidate withdrawal deadline at the same time Aug. 30.

“However, this is technically the deadline for presidential electors to withdraw, not the presidential nominee.” Watson wrote. “If a presidential elector does withdraw, then the law provides that the vacancy is filled by the party’s state central committee or by a vote of the remaining electors after the election (if they are elected). Assuming that the presidential nominee listed on the electors’ qualifying forms could also withdraw, the deadline would be the same: August 30th.”

“But there is a very big caveat to that deadline: the law (R.S. 18:1253(F)) is very clear that if ‘the certificate of nomination and notarized affidavit of each candidate for elector are not filed timely with the secretary of state, the secretary of state shall endorse the date and time of receipt upon all documents and shall return them forthwith,’” Watson wrote. “So if a nominee for elector (or nominee for president) withdraws between August 23rd and August 30th, we cannot accept new paperwork with a new nominee.”

“So if there will be a change to a presidential nominee for a recognized party, we would need to receive revised certificates of nomination and revised affidavits from the candidates for elector prior to 4:30 p.m. on August 23, 2024,” Watson added.

Maine: The election process following a candidate dropping out depends on when they drop out and why, according to Maine law.

Candidates can withdraw or be removed from the ballot up to 70 days before the election, which is Aug. 27 this year. After the deadline has passed, there are “emergency circumstances under Maine election law for production of new ballots in the event of a vacancy pursuant to death, injury or incapacitation of a candidate prior to election day,” said Shenna Bellows, Maine’s Secretary of State.

Under Maine election law, if a candidate on the general election ballot withdraws less than 70 days before the general election and does not meet the criteria for production of an emergency ballot, then notice is distributed to local election officials to post for voters, notifying them that votes for that candidate would not be counted, she said.

Maryland: The certification and display of ballots will be held on Sept. 3, according to a timeline of this year’s key election dates. The deadline for a voter to request judicial review for printing errors is the following day.

Printing of ballots is scheduled to begin on Sept. 6 and the state will begin sending mail-in ballots on Sept. 21.

The deadline for the governor “to issue and transmit a certificate of electors” is Dec. 11, just six days before those electors are scheduled to meet.

Michigan: “Presidential candidates are certified to the ballot by the party convention. Following the presidential nominating conventions, presidential candidates are added to the ballot. Convention candidates must be certified to the ballot no later than 60 days before the election so ballots can be delivered to military and overseas civilians 45 days before the election,” according to Cheri Hardmon, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State.

“Once ballots are printed, the Bureau of Elections is limited in its ability to remove a candidate’s name, due in part to the logistical complexity involved in preparation and distribution of ballots,” Hardmon wrote in a statement. “If a candidate withdraws after this point, the Bureau is committed to providing accurate and timely information to voters and elections officials. The Bureau will continue to follow legal guidelines to ensure transparency and uphold the integrity of Michigan’s elections.”

Minnesota: Major parties don’t have to provide candidates until Aug 26, according to Cassondra Knudson, spokesperson for the Office of Secretary of State.

If there was a change after that, a petition would need to be filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court. The court would provide guidance on how to proceed.

General election ballots will be sent out starting on Sept. 20.

Missouri: The Secretary of State must provide a certified list of candidates to local election officials by Aug. 27. Democrats would need a court order in order to swap out candidates after that date.

Montana: Each major party that received more than 5% of the vote in the previous two general presidential elections submits their nominees for president and vice president. They can be withdrawn from the ballot or changed as soon as 76 days before the election. The ways to change presidential or vice presidential nominations in Montana can happen in one of several ways: Upon the death of either or both of the candidates. If that happens, the party would be responsible for its nomination.

A presidential or vice presidential candidate may withdraw from the election if they send the correct written documentation to the Secretary of State at least 76 days before the general election.

If a presidential or vice presidential candidate withdraws from the election after the 76-day period, then it triggers section 13-12-202, which allows the Secretary of State some discretion in how to correct or update the ballot, including ordering new ballots for the entire state or specifying how the correction will be made.

Nebraska: The state has no process for removing a candidate from the ballot once the ballots are printed. Once the ballot is certified, it is certified, according to Jackie Ourada, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office.

For example, in this year’s May 14 Republican presidential primary in Nebraska, Nikki Haley remained on the ballot even though she had dropped out of the race.

Any recognized political party with a spot on the November ballot must certify its presidential and vice presidential candidates to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office by Sept. 9.

The statewide portion of the ballot is finalized Sept. 13. The process of distributing the first early ballots to deployed military members and Americans abroad starts Sept. 20.

Counties must have early ballots by mail ready to send out by Sept. 30.

Nevada: Each major political party must provide the names of their candidates for president and vice president to the secretary of state by 5 p.m. on the first business day of September of the year of a presidential election. That’s Tuesday, Sept. 3 this year because Sept. 2 is Labor Day.

That is about two-and-a-half weeks before the state’s deadline of Sept. 21 for distributing ballots to military and overseas voters. Nevada’s deadline is set in regulation.

New Hampshire: Secretary of State Dave Scanlan declined to answer the question about a candidate withdrawing, saying it was a hypothetical.

“This is a hypothetical question that depends on a number of variables. We should wait and see what the results of the national party conventions are before speculating,” Scanlan said.

New Jersey: The Secretary of State’s office declined to weigh in on what they viewed as a hypothetical question.

But a similar issue arose in 2002 when Sen. Robert Torricelli announced on Sept. 30 that he was withdrawing from that November’s general election. The state Democratic Party filed a complaint asking a judge to remove Torricelli’s name from the ballot and give the party a chance to select a replacement candidate. Some mail-in ballots — then called absentee ballots — had already been returned when the state Supreme Court heard the case on Oct. 2.

The court ruled in the party’s favor, saying election laws should be construed liberally so voters are not denied their franchise. Since it was “administratively feasible” to replace Torricelli’s name on the ballot, the court allowed the party to replace him.

A key change in the state’s election laws since 2002 would make this type of switch more difficult. In 2002, voters could vote absentee only if they had a valid reason. Since 2009, any voter can vote absentee, and since 2020, mail-in voting has become extremely popular. This means in early October 2024, many more voters will have already voted than had done so in early October 2002.

New Mexico: Biden’s name won’t be printed on New Mexicans ballots for the general election if he withdraws from the race before Aug. 27.

State law gives candidates 70 days before the general election date to submit a form with the Secretary of State that takes them out of competing in an election. Sept. 21 is the final day for local county clerks to print ballots, so technically, he has until then to get off ballots statewide, according to New Mexico Secretary of State spokesperson Alex Curtas.

North Carolina: Board of Elections lawyer Paul Cox told States Newsroom that if a presidential candidate dies, resigns, or is disqualified after the ballots have been printed and the absentee voting period has begun, then state law requires that the “candidate whose name appears on the official ballots shall not require that the ballots be reprinted.”

“If the vacancy occurs before the absentee voting period begins, the responsible county board of elections, or State Board of Elections if the contests spans more than one county, may determine whether it is practical to have the ballots reprinted with the name of the replacement nominee as authorized by G.S. 163-114,” state law says. “If the ballots are not reprinted, a vote cast for the candidate whose name is printed on the ballot shall be counted as a vote for the replacement nominee.”

North Dakota: If a candidate withdraws after ballots have been printed, new ballots are not printed, said Deputy Secretary of State Sandy McMerty. The deadline for ballot information to be submitted to the state is Sept. 3. Candidates can withdraw until 4 p.m. on Sept. 5.

If the top vote-getter has withdrawn or is deceased at the time of the election, the top vote-getter is declared the winner and the position is treated like a vacancy, McMerty said.

With the presidential office, the state would have no authority to fill that vacancy, she said.

Ohio: State officials are juggling timelines this year because the Democratic National Convention happens after an existing deadline for certifying candidates. The new cut off is Sept. 1.

If a presidential candidate backs out or dies after that, election officials would be in uncharted territory. On social media, Secretary of State Frank LaRose wrote “unless there were some sort of court ruling” the party would not be able to change the name on the ballot. But they’d likely follow procedures for other nominees dropping out late.

Namely, signs would be posted at polling locations and an insert would be included in absentee ballots. Because in the presidential race voters cast their ballot for a slate of electors, votes cast for the nominee who withdrew or died would go to that party’s slate of electors if the party’s candidate won the state.

Oklahoma: Any presidential candidate that drops out of the race after the state prints its ballots will still have their name appear on Election Day, according to Misha Mohr, spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Election Board.

The Democratic and Republican political parties have until Aug. 21 to certify who they want named as their candidates for president and vice president. The state is also required to send military and overseas voters their ballots at least 45 days before the election.

“One other thing I might add — I think it’s often forgotten that voters are actually electing the ‘presidential electors’ of their choice during the General Election — not the presidential candidate,” Mohr said.

Oregon: Election officials need to have ballots for November printed by Sept. 21 to get them to military members and residents overseas. If a presidential candidate were to drop out before Sept. 4, their name would not be on the Oregon ballot. Instead, elections officials would print the name of the nominated candidate on the ballot.

If that candidate were to withdraw after Sept. 4, their name would be on the Oregon ballot unless otherwise instructed by a court, according to Laura Kerns, spokeswoman for the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office.

If a candidate is elected, they would then have to resign, Kerns said.

Pennsylvania: Department of State spokesperson Amy Gulli said the agency “is not commenting on such hypothetical situations at this time.”

But here’s the situation: At least 70 days before the election, the Secretary of the Commonwealth is to provide to the counties the names of all known candidates, as known to exist at that time. This year, that date is Aug. 27. The secretary certifies the candidates for the November election as soon as possible after the deadline to submit substituted nominations.

Pennsylvania law requires that mail ballots must be printed and mailed to registered voters who have requested them no later than Oct. 22, 2024.

Rhode Island: Federal law requires states to send overseas and military voters their ballots at least 45 days before the election, so those must be finalized more than a month before Election Day, according to Faith Chybowski, director of communications for the Rhode Island Department of State.

“Once those ballots are printed and sent to military and overseas voters, we would be unable to change the ballot,” Chybowski wrote.

South Carolina: If a candidate drops out after the deadline for printing ballots — mid-September in this case — then the candidate’s name will remain on the ballot, and signs are posted at polling places to try to educate voters on what’s happened. But in the highly unusual scenario of a presidential candidate for a major party withdrawing before the general election, state election officials will likely give some leeway to the normal deadline.

By law, ballots must be sent to military and overseas voters 45 days prior to the election. For November, that date is Sept. 21. Because ballots take some time to assemble, the official withdrawal deadline is 5 p.m., 53 days prior to the election — so, a week earlier. A candidate who drops out after that deadline will remain on the ballot.

South Carolina Election Commission spokesman John Michael Catalano said the agency would likely stretch that deadline to update a presidential candidate — but not long. There would need to still be enough time to update the ballots before they must be shipped to overseas voters.

In normal circumstances, when a candidate withdraws after the 53-day deadline, the Election Commission tries to educate voters with signs and information on its website. For the Republican presidential primary, for example, the commission put up posters showing which candidates had dropped from the race but remained on the ballot.

South Dakota: The executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party, Dan Ahlers, told States Newsroom he’s “not aware of any provision that allows for the replacement of a presidential candidate once the ballot is printed.”

South Dakota’s deadline for general election ballots to be printed and in the possession of county auditors is Sept. 18.

Tennessee: Political parties have a Sept. 3 deadline to let elections officials know who they’ve selected as their nominee for president and vice president, according to Doug Kufner, communications director for Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett.

“So if Biden drops out before September 3, the ballot can be changed,” Kufner said.

Utah: State election officials said it’s unclear what the process would be if a presidential nominee were to drop out of the race after ballots are printed.

In Utah, parties are required to submit their candidates for president and vice president by Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. The deadline for write-in candidates is the Tuesday after Labor Day, and shortly after that date ballots are printed, according to the Utah lieutenant governor’s office.

As of this week, “we have not received an official certification from the Democratic Party yet naming their nominee,” Carlos Artiles Fortun, a communications specialist for the Utah lieutenant governor’s office, told States Newsroom.

When pressed on what the process would be in Utah if a presidential nominee drops out after ballots are printed, Fortun said, “This is something that would be unprecedented” and “we don’t have a comment on it right now.”

Virginia: If a presidential nominee drops out after ballots are printed, they can file paperwork with the state elections office formally withdrawing and then the state would post a notice at all polling places that the candidate has withdrawn. Sept. 6 is the deadline for parties to swap out their nominee; early voting starts in Virginia Sept. 20. More details here on Virginia’s process.

Washington: “The Secretary of State will certify the candidates and measures for the General Election on August 23. Immediately thereafter, counties will begin the process of printing their ballots to ensure timely delivery to military and overseas voters,” according to Jessica Hice, spokesperson for the Washington secretary of state’s office.

“Washington state’s deadlines require a certification no later than August 20, 2024. State law allows for substitutions for vice president up until August 22. The Secretary of State will certify the candidates and measures for the General Election on August 23 and would be the last day that any change wouldn’t impact the printing process,” Hice wrote in an email to States Newsroom.

“Any change, presumably by court order, after August 23rd could impact the on-time delivery of military and overseas ballot and voting materials (Voters Pamphlet) that are required to be sent no later than 45 days prior to any Federal Election,” Hice added.

West Virginia: State law says that “county ballot commissioners in all 55 counties in West Virginia have the authority to determine that the ballot contains an ‘error’ that ‘is of sufficient magnitude to confuse or mislead the voters,’ if a presidential candidate drops out of the race after ballots are printed,” according to Donald M. Kersey, III, chief of staff and chief deputy secretary of state.

In that case, the ballot commissioners can order that corrections are to be made by either placing stickers on paper ballots or reprinting ballots and reprogramming voting machines, both depending on practical timing.

Wisconsin: Under state law, political parties have until 5 p.m. on Sept. 3 to certify the name of their presidential nominee. Once formally nominated, a candidate can only be removed from the ballot due to death.

Contributions from: Alabama Reflector senior reporter Ralph Chapoco, Alaska Beacon Editor Andrew Kitchenman, Arizona Mirror Editor Jim Small, Arkansas Advocate Editor Sonny Albarado, Colorado Newsline Editor Quentin Young, Georgia Recorder reporter Stanley Dunlap, Idaho Capital Sun Editor Christina Lords, Indiana Capital Chronicle Editor Niki Kelly, Iowa Capital Dispatch Editor Kathie Obradovich, Kansas Reflector Editor Sherman Smith, Kentucky Lantern Editor Jamie Lucke, Louisiana Illuminator Editor Greg LaRose, Maine Morning Star senior reporter Eesha Pendharkar, Michigan Advance senior reporter Jon King, Minnesota Reformer Editor J. Patrick Coolican, States Newsroom National Editor Adam Kealoha Causey, Daily Montanan Editor Darrell Ehrlick, Nebraska Examiner Editor Cate Folsom,Nevada Current Deputy Editor April Corbin Girnus, New Hampshire Bulletin Editor Dana Wormald, New Jersey Monitor Editor Terrence T. McDonald, Source New Mexico Editor Shaun Griswold, North Carolina Newsline investigative reporter Lynn Bonner, North Dakota Monitor Editor Amy Dalrymple, Ohio Capital Journal reporter Nick Evans, Oklahoma Voice senior reporter Barbara Hoberock, Oregon Capital Chronicle Editor Lynne Terry, Pennsylvania Capital-Star Editor Kim Lyons, Rhode Island Current Editor Janine L. Weisman, South Carolina Daily Gazette Editor Seanna Adcox, South Dakota Searchlight Editor Seth Tupper, Tennessee Lookout Editor J. Holly McCall, Utah News Dispatch senior reporter Katie McKellar, The Virginia Mercury Editor Samantha Willis, Washington State Standard Editor Bill Lucia, West Virginia Watch Editor Leann Ray and Wisconsin Examiner Editor Ruth Conniff. 

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