WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats will hold a virtual vote in the first week of August to make Joe Biden their party’s nominee after he rejected calls from some in his party to drop out of the race following his disastrous debate performance with President Donald Trump.
The Democratic National Convention’s rules committee met Friday to discuss the plan and plans to finalize it next week, according to a letter to members obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. The letter from co-chairs Bishop Leah D. Daughtry and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that while virtual voting would not take place before Aug. 1, the party remains committed to holding a vote by Aug. 7, which was Ohio’s filing deadline.
“We are not in a rush to implement a virtual voting process,” Daughtry and Walz wrote, “but we will begin significant consideration of how a virtual voting process might work.”
The party announced in May that it would hold an early roll call to ensure Ohio voters were eligible to vote. The original deadline was Aug. 7, but the state has since changed its rules. The Biden campaign argues that the party must work under Ohio’s original rules to prevent Republicans from launching legal challenges to try to block the president from appearing on the ballot.
Daughtry and Walz’s letter came a day after House Democrats expressed caution about rushing the nomination. Biden A separate letter was circulated by the party’s candidates seeking re-election expressing “serious concerns” about the plans for virtual roll calls. Democratic National CommitteeThe report, which has not yet been sent, said silencing debate on the party’s nominees with an early roll call vote is a “terrible idea.”
“This could have the potential to deeply damage the morale and unity of the Democratic Party,” the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, said.
Democratic National Convention It is scheduled to take place in Chicago from August 19th to 22nd.
