The Democratic National Committee will officially nominate President Joe Biden through a “virtual roll call” vote ahead of its convention to ensure he appears on Ohio’s ballot. The DNC said on Wednesday, May 29, it will make the nomination ahead of its convention scheduled for August as Ohio’s ballot deadline of Aug. 7 comes two weeks before the in-person convention in Chicago.
The announcement came as a special legislative session opened in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine, R, said the issue would be resolved during the session, but it was linked to a GOP-backed campaign finance bill that would stop foreign donations to state and local ballot-issue campaigns, so the DNC made its own move.
“Through a virtual roll call, we will ensure that Republicans — despite their best efforts — can’t chip away at our democracy and that Ohioans can freely exercise their right to vote,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said in a post on X.
The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is expected to vote June 4 on a resolution to allow for the virtual roll call. All DNC members will then vote on the resolution in the following weeks. Once it is adopted, a virtual nomination process can proceed.
The virtual nomination will be similar to the process used during the 2020 convention, when proceedings were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A traditional roll call is still expected to take place at the convention in Chicago.