A conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, is trying to make it “extraordinarily difficult” for Democrats to replace President Biden on the ticket for the coming election. 

Calls have mounted for Mr. Biden to drop out of the race following his challenged debate performance last week. Democratic party members have reportedly been scrambling to manage the fallout from the debate, but so far have tried to curb any internal calls for Mr. Biden to step down. 

While Mr. Biden seems set on being the Democratic nominee, Republicans are reportedly making arrangements in case he chooses to withdraw — plans which have been in the works for weeks. 

After special counsel Robert Hur’s report escalated concerns over Biden’s declining health, the Heritage Foundation began to look into the process for replacing a presidential nominee. 

Researchers from the Heritage Oversight Project compiled all of the requirements for replacing Mr. Biden in a memo that was released shortly before last week’s debate. 

The laws vary state by state, and any effort to replace Mr. Biden will have to abide by the process outlined by each state. According to the memo, the laws in place in some key swing states could make such a move particularly difficult. 

“The problem that any potential replacement for Joe Biden would likely run into is that in many states, including in several key states, the deadline for getting on the ballot has already passed,” a senior legal fellow at Heritage, Zack Smith, told NOTUS. 

“Or in many states,” he adds, “the process for replacing a candidate currently on the ballot just isn’t clearly defined because it happens so rarely.”

According to the memo, the laws in Wisconsin, Nevada, and Georgia position them as prime places for litigation that would challenge efforts to swap out Mr. Biden from the ballot. 

As the debate has negatively impacted voters’ views of Mr. Biden, Republicans are likely motivated to keep him at the top of the ticket given that it may boost President Trump’s chances of reelection in November. 

However, should the Democratic National Committee rush to replace Mr. Biden before he is named at the virtual roll call ahead of the August convention, they may be able to secure a swap in the nick of time, state election lawyer John Ciampoli tells NOTUS.