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After Biden’s withdrawal, there is time to put his Democratic replacement on Texas ballots

Although the president won the Texas Democratic primary in March, he was not yet his party’s formal nominee when he dropped out.

AUSTIN — President Joe Biden’s name has not yet been submitted for the Texas ballot, so his departure from the 2024 presidential race will not affect finalizing and printing ballots for the Nov. 5 election, state and party officials say.

State law gives the Texas Democratic Party until Aug. 26 — 71 days before the election — to submit the names of its nominees for president and vice president.

Until he dropped out of the race Sunday Biden was his party’s presumptive nominee, having collected the necessary delegates in state-by-state primaries and caucuses earlier this year, including Texas, where Biden received 84.6% of the Democratic primary vote.

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Biden’s formal nomination as his party’s standard-bearer was to take place at the four-day Democratic National Convention, which starts Aug. 19 in Chicago. Delegates typically choose their nominee early in the convention, although Democrats were considering a virtual nomination vote for the first week in August.

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Once chosen, the name of the party’s nominee would be forwarded to election officials in Texas and other states.

“Once the nominee is established, we submit it to the secretary of state’s office,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa.

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Biden, 81, faced increasing pressure to exit the race after his struggles in the June 27 debate against Republican Donald Trump raised questions about his age and fitness for office.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, became the first congressional Democrat to call on Biden to drop out of the race days after the debate, and he was followed by more than 30 members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth.

In a Friday statement joined by three other House Democrats, Veasey cited widespread public concern about Biden’s abilities.

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“These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month’s debate and are now unlikely to change,” they said.