Republican secretaries of state in Alabama and Ohio are warning President Joe Biden’s campaign that Biden might not be placed on their general election ballots because the Democratic Party’s late-August convention falls after state ballot deadlines.

Ballot Access Concerns

It’s not the first time a convention has been held in late August — but it would be a first if any related ballot access questions weren’t solved easily, without fanfare or much controversy. And an NBC News analysis of other state deadlines suggests there aren’t likely to be other related hiccups for Democrats outside of these two states.

Biden Campaign's Confidence

The Biden campaign is resolute: It believes he’ll be on every state’s presidential ballot no matter what, pointing to a long history of similar issues getting solved without any fight — including in 2020, in Alabama, Oklahoma, Illinois, Washington, and Montana. It’s unclear whether Republicans will ultimately lend a hand to Democrats in either state to solve the issue in the most straightforward way: making small changes to state law.

John Merrill, a Republican who served as Alabama’s secretary of state until 2022, told NBC News that he thought the usually pro forma process shouldn’t fall victim to politics.

Alabama's Deadline

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen publicized a letter warning the state and national Democratic Party that state law requires them to provide his office with a certificate of nomination for president and vice president by Aug. 15, four days before the Democratic convention starts.

“If those certificates are not in my office on time, there will be no certification and no appearance on the Alabama general election ballot,” Allen said in a statement released as his office made the letter public.

Recent Precedent in Alabama

But both Alabama and Allen have recent experience with this exact issue. When the GOP was in this situation, in 2020, state Republicans voted to relax this deadline to ensure then-President Donald Trump obtained ballot access.

That legislation passed unanimously, with Allen, who was a state legislator at the time, among the “yes” votes.

Ohio's Situation

In Ohio, state law requires presidential and vice presidential nominees to be “certified to the secretary of state or nominated” through one of several manners “on or before the ninetieth day before the day of the general election.”

That means 12 days before the start of the Democratic National Convention — Aug. 7 — is the Buckeye State’s deadline.

Efforts in Ohio

Paul Disantis, chief counsel for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, warned of the potential for a missed deadline in an April 5 letter to Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters.

Pat Melton, a spokesperson for Ohio state House Speaker Jason Stephens, said LaRose gave the Republican speaker a heads up before sending his original letter and that Stephens and House GOP leadership are still “reviewing” the matter.