Democrats to hold off on early virtual nomination of President Biden amid party outcry

WASHINGTON — Following outcries from President Joe Biden's Democratic detractors , the Democratic National Committee is now holding off on an accelerated virtual roll-call vote this month to confirm Biden as their presidential nominee.

Yet Democrats are still sticking to a plan to virtually nominate Biden as their party's standard-bearer before Aug. 7, ahead of next month's Democratic National Convention, set for Aug. 19 to 22 in Chicago.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, co-chairs of the DNC's Convention Rules Committee, outlined the nomination timeline in a letter to other committee members Wednesday.

Their statement came after House Democrats who want to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee circulated a drafted letter Tuesday demanding that the DNC scrap plans for an expedited nomination vote − fearing it could come as early as next week − and wait instead until the convention.

More: Biden's House Democratic detractors demand DNC halt early nomination vote

The DNC is still moving forward on virtual roll-call nomination vote before Aug. 7 − a decision that party leaders say is needed to avoid possible litigation that a traditional nomination at the convention could invite because of a months-long ballot dispute in Ohio and ballot deadlines in other states.

"No matter what may be reported, our goal is not to fast-track. Our goals are to uphold our tradition of transparency, our commitment to an effective nominating process that delivers a nominee on all state ballots, and ultimately to set our nominees on a path to victory in November," Walz and Daughtry wrote.

How the DNC arrived at calendar mess

The DNC Convention Rules Committee is set to meet Friday to discuss the nomination timeline. Democrats intend to then meet again next week to formally adopt a date for the roll-call nomination vote.

Prompting the DNC's decision in May for a virtual nomination vote ahead of the convention was the situation in Ohio, where the state's Republican secretary of state, Frank LaRose, had threatened to keep Biden off the ballot if he wasn't formally nominated as the Democratic nominee at least 90 days before the Nov. 5 election, per Ohio law, which meant by Aug. 7.

To fix the problem, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine convened a special legislative session and on June 2 signed legislation that changed the deadline to 65 days before the election, enabling Biden to be on the state's ballot after being formally nominated at the convention.

A group of House Democrats − many who have expressed concerns about Biden's chances to beat former President Donald Trump in the election − have argued the early nomination vote is no longer needed given Ohio's efforts to resolve the situation.

"There is no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action which would effectively accelerate the nomination process by nearly a month," their draft letter to the DNC said. "Stifling debate and prematurely shutting down any possible change in the Democratic ticket through an unprecedented and unnecessary 'virtual roll call' in the days ahead is a terrible idea."

More: Key moments from Joe Biden's first primetime interview since Trump's assassination attempt

Biden ally denies DNC is fast-tracking nomination for Biden

But DNC Convention Rules committee members noted that the Ohio law does not go into effect until Sept. 1, a delay they said could invite lawsuits from Republicans to keep the Democratic nominee off the ballot.

"Unless Democratic nominees for President and Vice President are selected and certified to Ohio by August 7, we are likely to face litigation about the efficacy of our filings," Walz and Daughtry said in their statement.

They also said the issue goes beyond Ohio to ensure Biden's name is on ballots in other states.

"The challenges we face with ballot access deadlines do not stop with Ohio," they wrote, singling out Washington, Oklahoma, Virginia, California and Montana as other states with ballot deadlines before or during the convention.

Walz, during a Biden campaign press conference Wednesday in Milwaukee, site of this week's Republican National Convention, pushed back at suggestions from Biden's Democratic skeptics that the DNC is trying to fast-track the nomination for Biden.

"In my opinion − I know some of these people − it's irresponsible, but it's not surprising," said Walz, a Biden ally. "I don't think they're being unnecessarily mean-spirited, but they are ignorant of the process and I say that because I was and now I know."

At least two dozen Democratic members of Congress have publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the election following a disastrous June 27 debate performance against Trump that raised concerns about Biden's mental fitness and stamina. Biden has made clear repeatedly that he isn't dropping out of the race.

Among those who planned to sign Tuesday's letter calling for the DNC to scrap the virtual roll-call vote, according to Axios , was Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., who represents a swing district, and Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., who has called for Biden to end his campaign.

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats to hold off on early virtual nomination of President Biden amid party outcry