The elections chief in Ohio has called on the Democratic National Committee to stop using the state to justify a virtual meeting to officially name Kamala Harris as the party's presidential nominee.

Ohio's top election official is urging Democrats to cease using his state as a pretext to hastily nominate Vice President Kamala Harris for president during a virtual conference in the upcoming month.

On Thursday, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose wrote to DNC Chairman Jamie Harris, accusing party officials of misleading the public by stating that the Buckeye State's ballot access deadline necessitates nominating a presidential candidate before the Chicago convention from August 19th to 22nd.

"LaRose wrote to Harrison, stating that he had observed multiple media reports and interviews within the past week where you frequently mentioned Ohio's August 7 ballot access deadline as the reason for your committee's plan to hold a 'virtual nominating convention.' It is important to note that the Ohio General Assembly passed legislation in 2024, which granted an exception to the ballot access deadline for the presidential election, extending it to September 1, 2024, as signed by the governor."

The Democratic National Committee declared on Wednesday that it will conduct a virtual roll call vote for the party's presidential and vice presidential nominees prior to the convention, citing a ballot-access conflict in Ohio. According to Harrison and other Democratic officials, the early vote is imperative due to an August 7th deadline under Ohio state law.

In Ohio, MAGA Republicans have been playing games with democracy and threatening to keep Democrats off the general election ballot since May. This week, after President Biden withdrew from the race, Speaker Mike Johnson threatened litigation to challenge the Democratic nominee's place on the ballot and disenfranchise voters, as a DNC spokesperson told Planet Chronicle Digital.

The Democratic Party is conducting a transparent, impartial, and democratic procedure to choose our candidate, adhere to all legal standards, and unite as a strong Democratic Party to defeat Donald Trump in November, as stated by the spokesperson.

Under DNC rules, candidates have until July 27 to declare their candidacies with the convention and until July 30 to show they've met the qualifications for nomination. If Harris is the only candidate to declare and meet the required qualifications and delegate support threshold, the earliest delegates can begin voting electronically will be Aug. 1.

If more than one candidate meets the requirements, a five-day period will be granted for each candidate to present their case for nomination to the delegates before voting commences.

Harris secured the nomination within 36 hours of Biden's withdrawal from the race, after gaining support from over half of the nearly 4,000 delegates.

She announced on social media at 12:01 AM on Tuesday that she was proud to have earned the necessary support to become her party's nominee.

According to LaRose, there is no Ohio state law that prevents a Democratic presidential candidate from appearing on the ballot if they are nominated before September.

Ohio's chief elections officer, LaRose, has confirmed with the state's attorney general that Ohio law does not mandate the DNC to conduct a "virtual roll call" before the scheduled August convention dates.

"I believe your lawyers are knowledgeable about this matter, and I suspect your current argument is part of a strategy to remove the current president without a contested convention or any democratic process. Although it's an intelligent move, it contradicts your party's constant warnings about threats to democracy. Therefore, I request that you cease using Ohio as a justification for your actions."

LaRose guaranteed that if the Democrats put forth presidential and vice presidential candidates by Sept. 1, they would be included on the Ohio ballot.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Paul Steinhauser and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.