The Democratic Party will select its new nominee, virtually, as soon as Aug. 1, according to new rules passed Wednesday by the party's convention rules committee.
The Democratic National Committee also established that the party's candidate, which is likely to be Vice President Kamala Harris, must pick a running mate by Aug. 7, Ohio's current ballot deadline, which remains in effect. Harris' team is planning to finish the vetting of the VP field and expects her to pick her running mate by that date, according to a source familiar with the plans.
The DNC's newly adopted rules, the result of a long process that preceded President Biden's departure from 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, with no more than 50 from a single state, by July 30 at 6 p.m. ET.
That a challenger will meet that threshold to contest Harris' nomination is unlikely at this point. No notable Democrats who could challenge her have stepped forward; instead, the most likely figures quickly backed Harris. And in the days since Mr. Biden dropped out and endorsed her, Harris has won endorsements from well over 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 probably seen the reporting that Vice President Harris has received expressed support from the majority of pledged delegates, and might wonder what that means for this process," said DNC Chair Jamie Harrison. "Delegates are free to support who they choose, and we are glad 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 for delegates to officially express their preferences."
The committee's rules established that if it's just Harris who qualifies, the party would hold a roll call vote virtually as soon as Aug. 1, and not in person at its mid-August convention in Chicago.
If Harris does have a qualified challenger, Democratic Convention Chair Minyon Moore said the party would delay the roll call vote until Aug. 3, in order to allow candidates to make their case to delegates.
In May, the DNC made a push for a virtual process because of Ohio's Aug. 7 deadline for major parties to submit the names of their certified candidates for the November ballot.
While Ohio Republicans passed a law that pushed that deadline to Sept. 1, because it does not go into effect until Sept. 1, DNC officials cited potential litigation from Republican groups as a reason to go ahead with the early virtual roll call vote.
"If we take chances with state processes and deadlines, Republican groups could make the argument to challenge Democratic votes on the post-election side, arguing that our nominee should never have been on the ballot in the first place," said DNC outside counsel Pat Moore. "We should not and must not give them that opportunity."
Moore and other officials added that the nominee must have a running mate by Aug. 7, because Ohio requires both names to be certified by then.
"Failure to certify both nominees in advance of each state's ballot access deadline opens us up to very real political and litigation risks," he said.
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