THE Democratic Party will select its new candidate, virtually, as early as August 1, according to new rules adopted Wednesday by the party’s congress rules committee.
The Democratic National Committee also determined that the party’s nominee, who is likely to be Vice President Kamala Harris, must choose a running mate by Aug. 7, the current deadline for voting in Ohio, which remains in effect. Harris’ team is I plan to finish the selection of candidates for vice president and expects to choose her running mate by then, according to a source familiar with the plans.
The new rules adopted by the DNC, the result of a long process that preceded President Biden Departs of the race, also establish a window for any Democrat to qualify and appear on the roll call ballot.
Harris’ presidential campaign, and anyone seeking to challenge her, will need to file paperwork with the DNC and obtain digital signatures from at least 300 delegates, including no more than 50 from any single state, by July 30 at 6 p.m. ET.
It is unlikely that a challenger will reach that threshold to challenge Harris’ nomination at this point. No notable Democrats who might challenge her have come forward; instead, the most likely figures have quickly endorsed Harris. And in the days since Mr. Biden withdrew and approved itHarris has won the support of more than 3,000 of the 4,000 pledged delegates. The number of delegate votes she would need to secure the nomination is 1,976.
“Many of you have likely seen the news report that Vice President Harris has received the explicit support of a majority of pledged delegates, and may be wondering what that means for this process,” DNC Chair Jamie Harrison said. “Delegates are free to support whomever they choose, and we are pleased that they are engaging in this important moment in history. As a party, we have an obligation to design and implement a fair nomination process so that delegates can formally express their preferences.”
Committee rules established that if Harris were the only one qualified, the party would hold a roll-call vote virtually as early as Aug. 1, not in person at its mid-August convention in Chicago.
If Harris does indeed have a qualified opponent, Democratic convention chairman Minyon Moore said the party would delay the roll call vote until Aug. 3 to allow candidates to present their arguments to delegates.
In May, the DNC pushed for a virtual process because of Ohio’s Aug. 7 deadline for major parties to submit names of their certified candidates for the ballot. November Ballot.
While Ohio Republicans passed legislation that pushed that deadline back to September 1, as it doesn’t go into effect until September 1, DNC officials cited potential litigation from Republican groups as a reason to continue with early virtual roll call voting.
“If we take risks with state procedures and deadlines, Republican groups could argue that they could challenge Democratic votes after the election, arguing that our candidate should never have been on the ballot,” said Pat Moore, outside counsel for the DNC. “We should not and must not give them that opportunity.”
Moore and other officials added that the candidate must have a running mate by Aug. 7, because Ohio requires both names to be certified by then.
“Failure to certify both candidates by each state’s ballot access deadline exposes us to very real political and litigation risks,” he said.
