DNC says no virtual voting to nominate Biden will begin before August

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced Wednesday that there will be no virtual voting to officially nominate President Biden before August.

In a letter to members of the DNC Rules Committee, obtained by The Hill, co-chairs of the committee wrote, “we have confirmed with the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic National Convention that no virtual voting will begin before August 1.”

The letter, first reported by CBS News, stresses that the virtual voting process will not be “rushed” and argues that the fix in Ohio to get Biden on the state’s ballot “does not take effect until September 1,” which is after the convention starts Aug. 19.

The DNC was expected to finalize a plan to hold a virtual roll call vote in July, but setting the official voting for after Aug. 1 is the first time they’ve set a clear timeline.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) told reporters during a Biden campaign press conference Wednesday that a DNC meeting set for Friday was scheduled “for many months” but that “it was never meant to be a virtual roll call.”

“That virtual vote won’t happen before the first of August, and we just need to get it done probably by the 15th of August to make sure the those signatures on things are in the secretaries of states,” he added.

That plan for a virtual roll call ahead of the convention was originally made to ensure Biden appears on the ballot in Ohio after the DNC was notified the timing of the convention didn’t meet a Buckeye State deadline to certify the party’s presidential nominee.

But, on June 2, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed legislation to extend the deadline from Aug. 7 to Aug. 31. And, since then, Biden’s poor debate performance last month caused concern among Democrats over whether he should remain at the top of the ticket.

The Biden campaign has defended the virtual roll-call plan. But some skepticism remained, and House Democrats wrote a letter earlier this week warning the DNC not to go ahead with its plan to nominate the incumbent before the convention starts.

Lawmakers circulated a letter Tuesday arguing it is “a terrible idea” to take an “unnecessary and unprecedented” roll-call vote, contending it could “deeply undermine the morale and unity of Democrats … at the worst possible time.”

Supporters of the letter called on the DNC to cancel plans for the virtual roll call and to “refrain from any extraordinary procedures” that could be seen as curtailing debate or forcing the nomination early. And, they noted Biden has said to members of Congress in recent days that if Democrats want to challenge his nomination, they can do so at the convention.

The letter marked a resurfacing of unrest within the Democratic Party after public scrutiny over Biden at the top of the ticket was on a brief pause following the assassination attempt at former President Trump’s Pennsylvania rally over the weekend.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), one of the Democrats involved with the letter effort, told The Hill on Wednesday — after the DNC called off plans for its virtual vote — that they would no longer send their letter to the committee.

“We’re gonna take the win,” Huffman said.

Huffman said the letter had more than 30 signatures and noted that there were even more members supportive of the effort but not comfortable signing the communication. It would have likely gone out to the DNC on Thursday.

“Biden will have to make a historic decision,” Huffman said of the president’s options moving forward.

The California Democrat — who has not publicly called on Biden to step aside — argued that the letter was a sign of “growing pressure” for the incumbent to “reconsider” his decision to stay in the race.

Ahead of the shooting, about 20 Democrats had come out in public to call for Biden to withdraw from the race.

Earlier Tuesday, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison fired back at pollster Nate Silver online over the Ohio ballot deadline after Silver accused the committee of “blatantly lying” about the dates.

Harrison responded in a lengthy post, saying that under the Ohio Constitution, the law DeWine signed doesn’t take effect until 90 days, which would be Sept. 1.

Updated: 5:05 p.m. ET