Virtual roll call to start voting to nominate Kamala Harris could come as early as Aug. 1

Democrats will hold a virtual roll call to select their 2024 presidential nominee Aug. 1 if the only candidate is Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a draft obtained by the Sun-Times of a proposal sent to the Democratic National Convention rules committee members Tuesday.

If there is more than one contender seeking the nomination, the vote will be pushed back, but not by much. The proposed rules “allow for a brief period before voting begins for candidates to make their case to the delegates and the public.”

The goal is for the nominee to be selected by Aug. 7 in order to lock in access to ballots in every state, and avoid having to wait until the Aug. 19 convention in Chicago to make the nomination.

Democrats are worried some Republican-run states might try to use the late August nomination as an excuse to try to keep the Democratic nominee off state ballots. Ohio initially set the deadline for candidates to make the ballot as Aug. 7, but recently passed a law that moves that deadline to Sept. 1 to accommodate the dates of the Democratic convention. That law, however, doesn't go into effect until Sept. 1.

Former President Donald Trump became the GOP nominee at the Milwaukee convention last week, early enough to avoid any potential ballot deadline issue.

The plan for an early virtual vote was in place before President Joe Biden quit the race Sunday.

Under the proposal, any candidate for the Democratic nomination has to file a declaration of candidacy by Saturday. To qualify for a nomination vote, a contender needs to collect 300 delegate signatures electronically, with no more than 50 from one delegation.

The proposal stated, “if only one candidate for nomination reaches the delegate support threshold to be considered by the Convention, electronic voting by the delegates will begin on August 1.

“If more than one candidate for nomination reaches the delegate support threshold, the Rules allow for a brief period before voting begins for candidates to make their case to the delegates and the public.”

The Harris campaign said they have enough pledged delegates committed to the vice president to make her the presumptive nominee.

As for a running mate, the proposed rules said, “once a Presidential nominee is selected, the nominee may place a Vice Presidential candidate into nomination. The Convention Chair may then declare that candidate to be the Vice Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party."

The plan to have a symbolic roll call at the Chicago convention still holds. The proposal said at the convention, “celebratory and ceremonial votes to recognize the presidential and vice presidential nominees of the Democratic Party will be taken, including a state-by-state roll call for the presidential nominee.”