Though some Democrats object, arguing that the party should have more time to consider other choices, Democrats intend to formally re-nominate President Joe Biden in a virtual roll call vote in the first week of August, ahead of the party’s national convention.
The strategy was made official in a letter delivered on Wednesday morning to members of the Democratic National Committee. It follows weeks of internal deliberation on whether to continue supporting Biden in the wake of a lackluster debate performance.
Usually the high point of the proceedings, live roll call voting at national conventions are used by parties to nominate their presidential standard bearers. To prevent possible legal action in Ohio, Democrats, however, claim that they have been preparing for the unprecedented virtual roll call prior to the convention.
Co-chair of the Democratic National Convention Rules Committee and governor of Minnesota Tim Walz assured reporters on Wednesday that Biden’s early nomination was unrelated to his debate performance or concerns about his chances of unseating outgoing President Donald Trump.
“Friday’s gathering was planned for several months, and it was never intended to serve as a virtual roll call. Regarding the planned inaugural meeting of the committee, Walz stated, “It will be outlining the future course of action for the Rules Committee.”
According to Walz, virtual voting won’t begin until after August 1 and must end by August 7 to avoid any legal ramifications from an Ohio statute that established August 1 as the deadline for parties to submit candidates’ names for the November ballot.
However, Ohio officials claim that because of legislation that was passed earlier this summer, the deadline issue has already been resolved.
“Ohio is no longer the problem for Democratic proxies to blame for the dysfunction of their own party; Ohio has fixed the problem,” stated Ben Kindel, a spokesman for Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
Democrats, however, assert that they do not believe Ohio’s ruling Republicans will follow through. They are concerned about shady tactics used in the dying moments to attempt to remove Biden from the race. When the deadline was initially brought up, LaRose didn’t seem willing to budge and has a history of being combative when arguing with Democrats.
The Ohio statute that modifies the deadline won’t take effect until September 1. As a result, when August 7th arrives and goes, the initial deadline will still be in effect, potentially creating a legal window for disputes.
Biden-affiliated Democrats observe In order for him to be allowed to get Biden’s name on the ballot, Ohio’s secretary of state had earlier stated that the matter needed to be settled by early May. However, the law was not finally passed by the legislature until late May.
In the letter to DNC members, Walz and his co-chair of the Rules Committee, Bishop Leah Daughtry, stated, “Because a virtual element guarantees ballot access, we think it’s the best course of action. This eliminates any dangers that can arise from a procedure delay.”
“We are aware that the Democratic Party’s nominees will face legal challenges from the Republican Party and its connected groups in every manner imaginable,” they said. “Should Democratic candidates for President and Vice President not be chosen and approved by Ohio by August 7, we anticipate legal action about the validity of our submissions.”
The Democrats selected an exceptionally late date for this year’s convention, which will begin on August 19 in Chicago. Additionally, Walz and Daughtry stated in the letter that other states, like Virginia and Washington, which have deadlines for parties to provide the names of their nominees throughout the convention timeframe, may have issues due to the scheduling.
The co-chairs of the Rules Committees made an effort to reassure DNC members that they do not favor “a rushed virtual voting process.” They also stated that they will discuss the need for a virtual roll call vote and its mechanics during Friday’s meeting, but they will not immediately establish any rules.
One Democratic source with knowledge of the Rules Committee procedure, who wished to remain anonymous for the sake of candor, stated, “We would still be doing this if Biden was 10 points up because we needed to address the Ohio issue.” “There has been no change.”
However, Democrats who have doubts about Biden’s political and physical fitness charge the party of exploiting the Ohio dispute as a means of securing the president’s reelection.
“There is no legal basis for this exceptional and unprecedented measure, which would expedite the nomination process by about a month,” stated a draft letter signed by over 20 House Democrats that has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill. It is a bad idea to suppress discussion and abruptly end any potential Democratic ticket changes in the coming days by holding an unneeded and unusual “virtual roll call.”
However, in light of the official disclosure of the DNC’s plans, those House critics chose not to send the letter, according to a spokesman for Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who had been organizing the campaign.
Still scheduled for this Friday is a protest against the virtual roll call vote and a request for a new nominee at the DNC offices in Washington.
It is nearly impossible to replace the nominee under Democratic party rules unless he decides to withdraw.
Furthermore, as is customary for whichever party wins the White House, Biden maintains full influence over the party infrastructure, including the committees that draft its rules.
In this year’s presidential primary, he ran virtually unopposed and received 99% of the committed delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Furthermore, hand-picked Biden friends, who are selected in part due to their allegiance to the president, occupy major party committees and leadership positions.