By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic National Committee to name chairman Joe Biden as the party’s presidential standard-bearer through a “virtual call” before its August convention in Chicago, bypassing a detail in Ohio law that threatened to keep the president out of that state’s November elections.
Ohio law requires all candidates to be legally certified by Aug. 7, but Biden was not scheduled to be officially nominated until the start of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19. Democrats control the White House.
Virtual voting will be completed before the Ohio deadline, but the Democratic National Committee has not given a specific date.
“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio and all 50 states, and Ohio Republicans agree,” DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement Tuesday. then the Democrats will land this plane on their own.”
The DNC’s move comes despite a special legislative session in Ohio this week that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine had promised would resolve the issue. Democrats are not optimistic about the special session and have decided to take action on their own.
It wouldn’t be the first time Democrats have virtually endorsed their presidential candidate. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Democratic National Convention was held almost entirely remotely, with the roll call featuring pre-recorded messages and live footage from across the US.
The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee will need to vote next Tuesday on a resolution to propose changes to roll call voting to allow for virtual party proceedings.
The resolution will then be voted on by all DNC members. The measure should not be challenged.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Heather Timmons and Jonathan Oatis)
