The formal nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate was a celebration on Monday in Milwaukee. The Democrats have their own convention scheduled for the week of August 19 in Chicago. However, the party is sticking to plans it launched in May to hold an early telematic nomination before August 7. That decision was made due to a timeline issue, which has in principle already been resolved. Now, some congressmen consider it a way to abruptly close the internal debate on Joe Biden’s suitability to run for reelection, an accusation that the party apparatus flatly rejects.
Ohio Republicans warned that the deadline to register candidates for the ballot was August 7. Faced with the possibility that they might not be able to register Biden in time, the Democrats decided in May to launch an unusual process of voting and early nomination by electronic means, which would leave the Chicago convention reduced to one delegation. The Ohio legislature, with a Republican majority, then extended the deadline, so that, in principle, it would no longer be necessary to nominate in advance and many expected it to be dropped. However, the new law does not go into effect until September 1, which leaves some uncertainties in the air. There is no indication that the Republicans will back down, but the Democrats are not confident and maintain their plan of early nomination.
When the Democratic National Committee launched the teleconference, it was not a controversial decision. On the one hand, it was necessary. On the other, there was no doubt that Biden would be the candidate. However, after his disastrous debate on June 27 in Atlanta against Donald Trump, doubts about the president’s suitability to run for re-election have skyrocketed. Around twenty congressmen have asked for him to step aside and some have called for an open convention, with the delegates free to nominate an alternative candidate to Biden if they see fit.
The latest to call on Biden to throw in the towel has been prominent California Congressman Adam Schiff. “While the decision to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch. And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election,” he said in a statement.
Pressure from congressmen
In this context, the early nomination takes on a new aspect. A congressman has been distributing a letter among his colleagues to collect signatures against the electronic voting, according to what was revealed The New York Times. “We respectfully but strongly urge you to cancel any plans for an expedited ‘virtual roll call vote’ and further refrain from any extraordinary procedures that could be perceived as curtailing legitimate debate,” reads the letter, which was circulated by California Representative Jared Huffman to the Democratic National Committee.
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“There is no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action, which would in fact accelerate the nomination process by nearly a month,” the letter added, according to which the nomination could be finalized soon. Various sources cited by ABC News claim that the Democratic leaders of the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, are both pushing for the process to be delayed and for the early appointment not to be made.
If plans don’t change, the DNC rules committee is meeting by video call Friday, and if plans go ahead, the more than 4,000 delegates would begin voting Monday. Once each state delegation casts its votes (the process can take a few days), a call with everyone to confirm them is planned, in any case before August 7.
This call would be a procedure similar to the one that is usually carried out in person at the convention plenary session, when the spokespersons of the delegations of each State are introduced one by one. The two parties held their conventions remotely in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. At that time, voting was already done remotely, but as part of the convention.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison has defended the decision to go ahead with the recall because the deadline extension is not yet in effect. “The new law does not go into effect until 90 days after it is enacted, i.e. September 1st. Therefore, the August 7th deadline will still be in effect, giving rise to litigation and/or GOP gamesmanship to create more obstacles and blockages. So if we do nothing, (…) we would not be in compliance with Ohio law. Not having a presidential candidate on a state’s ballot would have enormous consequences and impacts,” he tweeted in response to criticism of his decision.
Biden has clung to the nomination, has launched a campaign and has repeatedly reiterated that he will not resign. With the nomination brought forward, the possibility of changing his mind is even less. The question is whether this formal proclamation will serve to close ranks around their candidate or whether it will open new wounds that will deepen the division that afflicts the party.
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