Democrats prepare to nominate Vice President Harris as their presidential nominee before August 7

2024-07-25 22:11:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Democrats prepare to nominate Vice President Harris as their presidential

Delegates to the Democratic National Convention may nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential nominee and even begin endorsing the as-yet-undetermined vice presidential nominee in an online voting process that begins next week. , while the party is trying to move quickly to come together in support of a new candidate for the November elections.

The Democratic National Convention's Rules Committee approved a proposal Wednesday that would allow delegates from around the country to vote on potential presidential nominees to replace President Joe Biden, who last weekend withdrew from the race. a second term.

But Ms. Harris is the only major Democrat who has publicly announced that she is seeking the party's nomination, meaning her candidacy is almost certain to be approved in just one round of online voting that begins on August 1, 18 days before to start the work of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison referred to the unprecedented upheaval of the presidential race following Mr Biden's departure, telling members of the House rules-making body that "on this dark night, we see our brightest stars".

The plan was approved after about 90 minutes of online discussion with little opposition. The whole package of rules of the Kuvnedi was finally approved with 158 votes in favor and 3 against.

Under those rules, Ms. Harris and any other Democratic candidate who intends to challenge her must file the electronic signatures of 300 House delegates, of which no more than 50 signatures must be from the same state. Electronic signatures must be submitted by the evening of July 30.

The qualification of many candidates may lead to several rounds of voting over several days. But if Ms. Harris is the only candidate, voting will begin on August 1.

Delegates will be able to receive the ballot via a secure email. The process is expected to be drawn up not only to officially nominate Ms. Harris, but most likely her running mate as well, before August, giving her some time to decide on the name she will choose as her right-hand man in the presidential race.

It is still unclear which one she might choose. So far the most likely names are Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, but about 12 more are likely being considered. other candidates.

Mr. Biden withdrew from the race last weekend and endorsed Ms. Harris. Since then, hundreds of Democratic members of Congress and governors, major labor unions and activist organizations have endorsed her to replace Mr. Biden.

An Associated Press poll of House delegates showed the vice president has the support of more than 1,976 delegates she needs to win in the first round of voting within her own party.

However, this does not automatically make her the nominee of the party, and her political force is promoting the virtual voting process under the argument that it cannot wait until the start of the Assembly to formally choose the party's candidate.

The Democratic Party points out that the reason for this is the deadline set on the ballots of the state of Ohio that candidates must be chosen by August 7.

Although Ohio lawmakers have approved changing this provision, it takes effect on September 1, and attorneys for the Democratic National Assembly warned that failure to meet the initial deadline could have legal consequences.

"Our party supports an open, fair and transparent process," said Minyon Moore, leader of the Democratic National Assembly. "We will act as we should"./ VOA