Don’t expect a balloon drop quite yet. How the virtual roll call to nominate Kamala Harris will work

WASHINGTON (AP) — Don’t expect a balloon drop, at least not yet.

Delegates to the Democratic National Convention will officially select their nominee for president in a process that begins Thursday. But unlike in past years, they won’t do so in the raucous party atmosphere of the convention floor or even during the convention itself. Instead, they’ll quietly fill out electronic ballots in the comfort of their homes, offices or vacation spots more than two weeks before the first delegate steps foot inside Chicago’s United Center.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidate qualified by a Tuesday night deadline.

Dubbed a “virtual roll call” by Democratic National Committee officials, the process will allow Harris to claim the nomination by Monday, just 15 days after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek a second term following widespread concerns within the party over his ability to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump in November.

How will the virtual process work?

Nearly 4,700 delegates will cast ballots using an electronic voting method the party says is similar to one used to tally virtual roll call votes in the 2020 convention, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the party to conduct much of its official business remotely.

Under new procedures adopted by the convention’s rules committee in late July, candidates had until July 27 to declare their intent to seek the presidential nomination and until Tuesday night to submit the 300 delegate signatures required to qualify for the roll call vote. According to a DNC statement, Harris submitted signatures from 3,923 delegates, about 84% of the full delegation and 99% of delegates who signed a petition.

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