With President Biden’s decision to pull out of the race, the Democratic National Convention’s rules committee has called a Wednesday meeting to discuss the process for picking a new nominee.
While much of the party has rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats still must make a formal nomination, either through a virtual vote that would lock in a new nominee in early August, or in an “open” convention, a scenario the party hasn’t seen since 1968.
A convention is open when no candidate arrives with a clear majority of delegates, so the event turns into a mini-primary in which contenders scramble to persuade delegates to vote for them.
“If the overwhelming delegations across the country are wanting the vice president to be the nominee, I think we should go ahead and have the virtual roll call vote,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party and a member of the rules committee. “If there’s a big split, which I doubt, then we should leave it to the convention.”
Who picks the nominee??
A few thousand delegates representing voters officially decide on the party’s nominee, whether a convention is open or not. Typically they choose the winner of the primaries — that’s what they are sent to do — so it may feel as if the voters choose directly.
All of President Biden’s delegates are free agents and will choose a candidate on their own without voter input.
Pledged Delegates
Pledged delegates commit to supporting the candidate the state’s voters chose. Almost any registered voter deemed to be loyal to the party and the candidate can be a pledged delegate: poll workers, local elected officials, fundraisers, even candidates’ kids.
Automatic Delegates
Automatic delegates, or sometimes called superdelegates, are among the party’s highest profile leaders, and includes former presidents and vice presidents, Democratic governors, members of Congress and party officials.
As long as the party goes ahead with a long-planned virtual vote, it could officially lock in the nominee before the convention starts, and the contest would be over.
It’s likely a virtual vote will simplify the process, as some states have August deadlines to get on the ballot for the general election, while early voting begins in some places in September.
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