Democrats Set Aug. 1 for Harris Nomination Vote

Democrats on Wednesday took another step toward formally nominating Vice President Kamala Harris for president, with the rules committee for the party’s national convention setting Aug. 1 as the date that delegates are likely to begin voting.

In a virtual meeting, Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, and other party officials acknowledged the groundswell of support for Ms. Harris among its members and assured them that the party was dedicated to what one leader called an “open, fair and transparent” nominating process.

“We have an obligation to design and implement a fair nomination process for delegates to officially express their preferences through a vote,” Mr. Harrison said.

Candidates for the nomination will have until the evening of July 30 to show they have met the qualifying criteria, mainly by having acquired the support of at least 300 delegates, with no more than 50 from a single state. No plausible Democrats have stepped forward to challenge Ms. Harris after President Biden exited the race on Sunday and quickly endorsed her.

If she remains unopposed, the voting will begin online on Aug. 1. If she has a challenger, the voting could begin by Aug. 7.

The committee on Wednesday adopted the rules it will use to formally choose its next nominee. The draft of those nominating rules was first released on Tuesday.

The rules vote followed more than an hour of discussion in which several members cited the gravity of the moment, saying Republicans could challenge the rules in lawsuits as they seek to knock their new nominee off state ballots.

“Republicans will use this moment to do what they do, to sue, to try to bar us from the ballot or to try to disqualify our voters, and to suggest that somehow