The Democratic National Committee has decided not to wait for August, when delegates are scheduled to converge on Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, an event that usually culminates in the nomination of the presidential nominee.
Instead, the DNC is gong to conduct a “virtual roll call” in the coming weeks before the convention. This is to ensure that Biden can get on the Ohio ballot, which has a deadline of Aug. 7 for nominees. The DNC convention in Chicago is not until Aug 19-22.
Ohio is an important state for the presidential election, as it is often a swing state. This year, polling is strong for Donald Trump, according to FiveThirtyEight’s aggregation of recent surveys. But the Democrats know that anything can happen, and it would be embarrassing if the sitting president didn’t get on the Ohio ballot.
No date has been set for when the Democrats will have their virtual roll call vote, which will be done presumably by Zoom, Teams, or another online meeting application.
In the past, the Ohio Assembly has moved the deadline to accommodate candidates from both the Republican and Democrat parties, but the legislature has not moved the deadline this year. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, called for a special session to begin on May 28 to try to resolve the issue; the Senate passed legislation moving the deadline but the House did not.
“The Legislature had Session yesterday and failed to take action on this urgent matter. Ohio is running out of time to get the sitting President of the United States on the ballot this fall. Failing to do so is unacceptable. Therefore, pursuant to Article III, Section 8 of the Ohio Constitution, I am calling a special session of the Ohio General Assembly to begin on Tuesday, May 28th. The purpose of the session will be for the General Assembly to pass legislation ensuring that both major party presidential candidates will be on the Ohio ballot in November, as well as legislation that would prohibit campaign spending by foreign nationals,” Gov. DeWine said.
“It is important that when Ohioans cast their vote for President of the United States, United States Senator, and many other offices this fall, they have the opportunity to cast a vote for either of the major party candidates for those offices,” DeWine said.
Whether the virtual nomination dampens the attendance to the Democratic National Convention remains to be seen. It costs delegates a lot of money to attend a national convention, and some may choose to sit it out, since inflation has cut their earnings dramatically under Bidenomics, and since they won’t actually be casting votes for their nominee.
The party has been plotting for weeks to have at least the option of a hybrid in-person and virtual convention — just in case.
This will be the second time in a row for Democrats to do the nomination via remote vote. In 2020, the Democrats held a virtual convention in order to minimize the spread of Covid. Biden accepted the nomination from the basement of his Delaware home, where he had spent most of his time during the campaign that year.
There are also worries about civil unrest or rioting. This year, some expert Chicago to see a reprisal of the 1968 Democratic Convention riots over the Vietnam War. The city now has a mayor, elected just last year, who appears to side with pro-Hamas protesters. In recent months, those protesters around the country have become unruly, lawless, and even violent.
Alaska’s Division of Elections’ deadline for independent candidates is Aug. 7, but is Aug. 30 for president and vice president candidates from the recognized parties. The deadlines are set so candidates can be included in the Official Election Pamphlet.
