DNC to move forward with virtual roll call to pick nominee

DNC plans to move forward with virtual roll call to pick presidential nominee

The Democratic National Committee is planning to push forward with a virtual roll call to pick a presidential nominee, rather than wait to do it in person at the convention, according to the Associated Press.

SEATTLE - The Democratic National Committee is planning to push forward with a virtual roll call to pick a presidential nominee, rather than wait to do it in person at the convention, according to the Associated Press.

Details will be finalized at a Wednesday rules committee meeting, but the AP reports a draft of the plan calls for the vote to take place August 7. This comes after President Biden’s bombshell announcement has the Democratic Party scrambling from Washington D.C. to Washington state. A process that usually takes months, now limited to weeks.

The Washington State Democratic Party sent FOX 13 the following schedule:

July 24:

DNC Rules Committee Meeting -- Rules Committee will consider and review draft rules for a framework to select a new nominee that is open, transparent, fair and orderly.

July 25:

WA DNC National Delegates will also meet on this day to consider voting to endorse Vice President Harris or any other candidate. We will send a press release after this meeting.

August 19-22:

Democratic National Convention, Chicago

"It’s been an exciting 24 hours," said Chair of the Washington State Democrats Shasti Conrad.

She’s among the delegates headed to Chicago next month for the Democratic National Convention and she’s among those who now have a hand in who the next Democratic nominee for president will be.

"We are truly in this unprecedented, historic moment and we all get to have this front row seat to history," Conrad said.

Sunday’s announcement has left a lot of Washington residents with questions surrounding the state's ballot, which needs to be certified by August 20, and is in the middle of the Democratic National Convention.

"Because we have a Democratic Secretary of State, he was able to find a solution that would allow for the nominee to be put on the ballot, even after they were nominated a couple of days within August 20th, which is our deadline," Conrad said.

In Ohio, though the deadline there is August 7th, Conrad told FOX 13 they couldn’t find a solution.

Shoreline Mayor Chris Roberts is on the credentials committee and also headed to the convention.

"We are trusting the delegates of Washington State to make the best decision on behalf of democrats," Roberts said.

The last time he went to the convention was in 2012, and he told FOX 13 he’s excited to go again.

In the meantime, while the pick for the next Democratic presidential nominee is now up to the delegates, Conrad says it’s still reflective of Washingtonians.

"Their votes that they cast in the primary are what set all of this in motion and it’s what gave us the number of delegates that will be pledged to President Biden and we have two that are uncommitted," Conrad said.

The Democratic National Convention starts on August 19 in Chicago.