The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Wednesday that it will not hold a virtual vote to formally nominate Biden for president before August.
In a letter to Democratic National Committee members obtained by The Hill, the committee co-chairs wrote that “we have confirmed with the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic National Convention that virtual voting will not begin prior to August 1.”
This letter was first CBS Newsstressed that the virtual voting process “will not be rushed” and that the amendment to put Biden on the ballot in Ohio “will not go into effect until September 1, after the start of the convention on August 19.”
The DNC had been expected to finalize plans to hold a virtual roll call vote in July, but setting a formal vote after Aug. 1 marks the first time the DNC has set a clear timeline.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) told reporters at a Biden campaign news conference on Wednesday that the Democratic National Convention, scheduled for this Friday, had been planned for “months and months” but “was never planned to be a virtual roll call.”
“This virtual voting cannot take place before August 1st and probably needs to be completed by the 15th.Number “We need to make sure those signatures are with each secretary of state by August,” he added.
The plan for a virtual roll call before the convention was originally made to ensure Biden appeared on Ohio’s ballot after the party was notified that the convention would not be timed to meet Ohio’s deadline for certifying the party’s presidential nominee.
But on June 2, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed a bill extending the deadline from Aug. 7 to Aug. 31. And since then, Biden’s poor performance in last month’s debate has raised concerns among Democrats about whether he should remain in the top spot.
The Biden campaign has defended the plan for a virtual roll call, but results would not be released until August after House Democrats warned the Democratic National Committee not to move forward with plans to nominate an incumbent before the Democratic National Convention begins.
The lawmakers circulated the letter Tuesday, arguing that an “unnecessary and unprecedented” roll call vote is a “terrible idea” and “could severely damage Democratic morale and unity at the worst possible time.”
Supporters of the letter called on the DNC to drop plans for a virtual roll call and “refrain from any extraordinary procedures” that could be seen as stifling debate or forcing the nomination early. They also noted that Biden has told lawmakers in recent days that if Democrats want to challenge his nomination, they can do so at the convention.
The letter marks renewed unrest within the Democratic Party after public attention on front-runner Biden temporarily subsided following the assassination attempt at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
Before the shooting, about two dozen Democrats had publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race.
Earlier in the day, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison fired back online at pollster Nate Silver after he accused the committee of “blatantly lying” about the date Ohio’s polls would close.
Harrison Responded In a lengthy post, he said that under the Ohio Constitution, any law signed by Governor DeWine does not go into effect until 90 days later, which is September 1st.
