Harris secures delegates for Democratic nomination in roll call vote

Vice President Kamala Harris has received the delegates needed to become the new 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison announced Friday.

"I am so proud to confirm that Vice President Harris has earned more than a majority of votes from all convention delegates and will be the nominee of the Democratic Party following the close of voting on Monday," Harrison said on a call covering the virtual roll call vote .

Harris's nomination means she will be the first black and South Asian woman to lead a major party's ticket in the fall.

"The outpouring of support we have witnessed for the vice president has been unprecedented," Harrison said. "We knew your ballots would come back quickly, but the fact that we can say today, just one day after we open voting, that the vice president has crossed the majority threshold and will officially be our nominee next week, folks, that is simply outstanding."

Harrison announced Harris had secured 2,350 votes, more than a majority of delegates, by 1:16 p.m., though delegates can continue to cast their ballots until Monday, Aug. 5, at 6 p.m. The DNC decided to nominate President Joe Biden but then switched to Harris, nominating the vice president through a virtual roll call vote, despite Ohio changing its ballot access laws to accommodate the late date of the DNC this election cycle.

"Look, we're in a time where voter restriction is just, it's not a bug, it's a feature of the Republican Party," Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), co-chairman of the DNC's rules committee, said on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. "I don't trust them in Ohio to do this. But that's not the only reason for it. We need to get these things done. We need to get the roll call done."

Harris, who will replace Biden after he dropped out of the race two weeks ago, will accept the nomination during the convention in Chicago later this month.

"I am honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States," Harris said on the call. "We will gather in Chicago united as one party, where we're going to have an opportunity to celebrate this historic moment together."

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But Harris, who is experiencing a surge in polling and fundraising numbers, added that Democrats "have a lot of work to do" to defeat former President Donald Trump in November.

"This campaign is about all of us coming together, people coming together from every walk of life, every lived experience, and being fueled by our love of country, knowing that we are prepared to fight for the best of who we are," she said. "It's not going to be easy, but we're going to, we're going to get this done. And as your future president, I know we are up to this fight."