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With President Joe Biden having dropped out of the 2024 White House race, attention has now turned to the Democratic party and their plan for nominating his replacement.
Biden, 81, has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, to become the Democratic nominee and a slew of Democratic donors, lawmakers and public figures have thrown their support behind her.
But Harris is yet to gain the title officially – something that won’t be formalized until the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August.
With less than a month to go to the DNC, here’s what you need to know:
When is the DNC?
The Democratic National Convention is slated to start on 19 August 2024.
The convention will then run for four days, ending on 22 August.
Where is the DNC?
Democratic delegates from all 50 states and US territories will attend the convention at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
The DNC said Chicago was chosen because it “represents the diversity of the Democratic Party and the country.”
“It’s a union city that sits at the heart of the Midwest, and it’s a Democratic stronghold that was part of the ‘blue wall’ crucial to the Biden-Harris victory in 2020,” the convention organizers wrote on the DNC website.
What will happen at the DNC?
Roughly 4,000 Democratic delegates out of 4,700 pledged to support Biden after he swept the party’s primary elections earlier this year.
But, now that Biden has dropped out of the race, those delegates are now up for grabs.
Following Biden’s announcement on Sunday, DNC chair Jaime Harrison pledged a “transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November”.
“This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people,” Harrison said in a statement.
“In short order, the American people will hear from the Democratic Party on next steps and the path forward for the nomination process.”
Under convention rules, the delegates pledged to Biden are now effectively free agents, which means they are also not obligated to support Harris.
A candidate would need at least 300 signatures from delegates at the convention, with no more than 50 delegates pledged per state.
If there is no clear majority winner after a round of voting to determine the nominee in a first round, there are another 750 so-called “super delegates” — made up of elected officials, former DNC chairs and former Democratic presidents — who can cast their votes.
A candidate formally becomes the nominee “upon the conclusion of their acceptance speech,” according to DNC rules.
In a recent memo to Harrison, DNC member James Zogby outlined a campaign-like process leading up to a convention, underscoring “a process that is open, transparent, and energizing, while, at the same time, legitimate and democratic.”
A prospective candidate would need the backing of at least 40 DNC members, with at least four members from each region. There would then be a televised “campaign” leading up to the convention, culminating in a vote for the nominees.
