Democratic Rules Committee will study the right time to choose vice president

Democratic Party officials have argued that a virtual vote to select the presidential candidate must take place by Aug. 7 to avoid the risk of litigation in Ohio.

But when — and how — should a vice presidential candidate be selected to join the nominee on those ballots?

This is a critical issue that members of the Democratic National Committee (NDC) Rules and Bylaws Committee hope to address when the group meets on Wednesday, as reported by two members to CNN.

“For the call to vote to happen, does Kamala Harris need to announce a candidate for vice president? What are the specific details of this?” asked a committee member CNNsuggesting that interpretation of existing rules – or drafting new rules – may be necessary to clarify the selection process and timeline.

According to the two members, the co-chairs of the Democratic Party Rules Committee have not yet finalized the official agenda for the meeting, which will be streamed online.

Selecting a vice presidential nominee for the party’s top candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, by the party’s convention, which is four weeks from now, already represents an acceleration of the vetting process that usually takes months. Selecting a running mate before the August 7 roll call deadline would require an even faster process.

A CNN reported that former Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm Covington & Burling are leading the evaluation process for Harris’ running mate.

In 2020, when the party used a remote voting process similar to what is being proposed for this year, Biden, as the Democratic nominee, was allowed to simply nominate a vice presidential candidate, avoiding the need for a separate vote to approve the selection.