Let’s suppose, for a moment, that you are in charge of choosing the date for the Democratic National Convention — you know, the event where pledged delegates representing the states and superdelegates representing the establishment (a rather useless distinction, all things considered) cast ballots for the party’s presidential candidate.

There are, of course, a number of factors to consider: When is the venue available? When are key speakers and attendees (like the president of the United States) available? Are other major events taking place in Chicago around the same time that could cause problems for traffic, lodging, etc.? (READ MORE: Biden’s Never-Ending Lies Spawn a New Generation of Liars)

But perhaps the most important question to consider is: When are the filing deadlines for a party to put a candidate on the ballot in each of the 50 states? Ideally, the convention should end and the party should select its candidate before any of those filing deadlines pass. Ideally. That is the purpose of the convention, after all.

Unlike most of the other logistical questions Democrats have had to answer in picking a date for their national convention, filing deadlines for each state can be found in about 0.36 seconds with a simple Google search (I timed it). (READ MORE: Biden’s Loan Amnesty Passes the Buck)

Filing deadlines also rarely change. Alabama, for instance, has had the same filing deadline since 1975, and Ohio has required parties to submit candidates for the ballot 90 days prior to an election for quite a few election cycles now. That’s not to say the legislatures in those respective states haven’t bent the rules on occasion (Ohio did for both the Republican and Democrat Party in 2020), but, in general, the law remains rather predictable.

The filing deadlines in Alabama and Ohio are Aug. 15 and Aug. 7, respectively. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to take place in Chicago from Aug. 17 to Aug. 22 (the Republican National Convention is in July, well before any state’s filing deadlines). Therein lies a slight problem.

The convention will simply take place too late to make either state’s ballots.

This past week, the election offices of both Alabama and Ohio informed the Democrat Party that either the convention would have to take place earlier, or the state would have to make an exception — something that can only be done by the legislature (which is predominantly Republican in both states). (READ MORE: Pelosi and 36 Democrats Were Dying to Kiss the Hand of Hamas)

Joe Biden’s election campaign sounds very sure that an exception will be made for the president of the United States. “Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states,” one Biden campaign spokesperson said. “State officials have the ability to grant provisional ballot access certification prior to the conclusion of presidential nominating conventions.”

The spokesperson isn’t wrong. Whether or not the state officials and legislatures in question are Republican, they’re unlikely to stand their ground and keep Biden off the ballot because the DNC won’t follow the rules.

One wonders if Democrat state officials would make an exception if the roles were reversed. I suppose we’ll never know. Republicans (wisely) aren’t giving them the same excuse to bar Donald Trump from state’s ballots.