DNC plans to hold virtual roll call to nominate President Biden before Chicago convention
CHICAGO -- The Democratic National Committee is planning to hold a virtual roll call ahead of the party's August convention to nominate President Joe Biden in order to meet an Ohio ballot access deadline.
The move comes after the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature failed to pass legislation to move back the state's Aug. 7 deadline for political parties to submit their official nominees. The Democratic convention is taking place Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
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"Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio and all 50 states, and Ohio Republicans agree," DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement Tuesday. "But when the time has come for action, they have failed to act every time, so Democrats will land this plane on our own."
Democrats held a remote vote before the convention during the pandemic in 2020. Under that process, delegates were sent individualized ballots, with all votes cast and counted before the convention officially began. During the convention, the party played a virtual roll call which featured videos and live shots from around the country.
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The decision by the DNC comes after Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine last week called for a special session starting Tuesday to pass legislation to fix the ballot issue. Earlier this month, Alabama's Republican-led legislature moved back the deadline to clear the way for Biden to make the ballot there.
The Biden campaign said that while there will be a virtual roll call and nomination of Biden and Kamala Harris, the DNC will still hold in-person ceremonial events for each process at their convention.
Neither the party nor the Biden campaign have confirmed a date when this virtual nomination could happen, but it will definitely be before the Aug. 7 Ohio ballot certification deadline.
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.
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