(Bloomberg) -- The Democratic Party has proposed using virtual voting for its nomination process and setting a minimum delegate threshold to make the ballot — outlining the rules for a race that could quickly become moot as Vice President Kamala Harris clears the field.
Under a proposal unveiled by party leaders on Monday, candidates would have to receive the support of a minimum of 300 delegates — with no more than 50 from any one state — for inclusion on a virtual ballot. Those vying for the nomination would also be required to file a formal declaration of candidacy.
If only one candidate hits that mark, the party would directly proceed to open virtual voting — a move that could quickly formalize Harris as the nominee. So far, 1,350 delegates have told the Associated Press in an unofficial tally that they plan to back Harris, while just 95 have said they are undecided. A candidate would need 1,976 delegates to vote for them on the first ballot to clinch the nomination.
If more than one candidate hits the 300 delegate threshold, a campaign period of “no more than several days” would follow before voting, the party said.
The proposal will have to be adopted when the convention’s rule committee meets Wednesday afternoon.
The party intends to finalize a nominee by Aug. 7, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who called the proposal “fast and fair,” said in a call with reporters on Monday evening. That means that the party’s convention in Chicago will take place after a nominee has been decided.
An in-person convention can simply not accommodate what could be multiple rounds of voting, Convention Chair Minyon Moore said.
“We want to make sure the process is fair because as it stands, no candidate has secured the delegates necessary to win the nomination,” Moore said.
The officials demurred when asked when the nominee would have to have a vice presidential selection in place, saying only that they might have the flexibility to go beyond Aug. 7th.
The party is racing to set out a nomination process in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he would no longer seek the 2024 nomination and a second term. Biden has been the presumptive nominee after a primary contest in which he faced no serious challenger.
Harris’s own primary is shaping up similarly. She’s received scores of endorsements from top Democratic officials, groups and lawmakers, including many of the rivals who might have been able to mount a challenge.
“It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” Harris told workers Monday at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. “So in the days and weeks ahead, I, together with you, will do everything in my power to unite our Democratic Party, to unite our nation and to win this election.”
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