Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, has notified both the state and national Democratic parties that the scheduled date of the Democratic National Convention falls after the deadline for the party to submit its nominees for president and vice president for the general election in November. According to Allen, state law requires parties to provide a certification of nomination no later than August 15th.

In a letter addressed to Randy Kelley, Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, Allen expressed his concern about the conflict between the convention date and the state's statutory deadline. He stated that if his office does not receive a valid certificate of nomination from the Democratic Party by the deadline, he will be unable to certify their candidates for the general election ballot.

Allen's office sent a copy of the letter to Jaime R. Henderson, Chair of the Democratic National Committee, ensuring the national party is aware of the situation as well.

The 82-day deadline, which has been in Alabama's election law since 1975, is outlined in Alabama code section 17-14-31(b). This section stipulates that parties must certify their candidates "no later than the 82nd day preceding the day fixed for the election." With the upcoming election scheduled for November 5th, this makes August 15th the cutoff date, as elucidated in Allen's letter.

Highlighting the importance of adhering to the state's election laws, Allen emphasized that the certification deadline has been available on the secretary of state's website since June 2023.

Allen clarified in the letter that failure to meet the certification deadline would result in the Democratic Party's exclusion from the ballot for the Alabama general election as per sections 17-13-22 and 17-14-31(a) of the Code of Alabama.

While the Republican Party's national convention is scheduled to take place from July 15th to 18th, comfortably ahead of the Alabama certification deadline, the Democratic Party's convention, initially planned for August 19th, poses a challenge.

It is widely anticipated that the Democrats will nominate President Joe Biden for a rematch against the presumed Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

The letter serves as ample notification to the Democratic Party's leadership at both the state and national level, emphasizing the importance of meeting the statutory deadline for certification.

The story will continue to be updated as the situation unfolds.