WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee will move forward with a virtual nomination vote for its presidential candidate as soon as Aug. 1, after its Rules Committee approved the process on Wednesday.

The DNC has been moving forward with plans to hold a virtual nomination roll call since well before President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place.

The pre-convention vote is necessary to avoid potential legal pitfalls that could arise if the DNC waits to formally nominate its candidate until during its convention in late August, since some states have deadlines to place candidates on their ballots before or during that week.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said at the beginning of the Rules Committee’s meeting the party is striving to “execute this nomination with transparency, with fairness and efficiency.”

“Many of you have probably seen the reporting that Vice President Harris has received the expressed support from the majority of pledged delegates and might wonder what that means for this process,” Harrison said.

“Delegates are free to support who they choose and we are glad that they are engaging in this important moment in history,” Harrison said. “As a party we have an obligation to design and implement a fair nomination process for delegates to officially express their preferences through a vote resulting in eventually an official nominee of the Democratic Party who will go on to the top ballot in November.”

Multi-step process

Under the process adopted during the panel’s meeting, Harris as well as other presidential hopefuls have from July 25 through July 27 at 6 p.m. Eastern to register their intent to seek the nomination with the DNC Convention secretary.

Candidates then have until July 30 at 6 p.m. to meet the requirements, including collecting at least 300 signatures from DNC delegates with a maximum of 50 of those people representing any one state.

DNC Rules Committee Co-Chair Leah D. Daughtry said during the live-streamed meeting that if only one presidential candidate qualifies, she expects the virtual roll call would take place on Aug. 1.

If more than one candidate qualifies, Daughtry anticipates the virtual roll call would take place on or around Aug. 3.

Democrats will still hold a ceremonial roll call of the states from the floor of the United Center in Chicago during their convention week, but have argued for months they must certify their nominee beforehand.

‘Consistent with our values’

Minyon Moore, chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, said the party has “the guideposts and the expertise in place to ensure that we will do this right and in a manner that is consistent with our values as Democrats.”

“We understand that this is an unprecedented situation but I’m confident that we will find a path forward together,” Moore said.

DNC outside counsel Pat Moore said the virtual roll call will provide an avenue for all 4,699 delegates to cast a vote for the presidential nominee.

The DNC waiting until the in-person convention to officially certify its presidential nominee, he said, would open the party up to lawsuits.

“Make no mistake, we have strong legal arguments in response to any such claims and we’re prepared to make them,” Pat Moore said. “But we also have opponents who are willing to make specious arguments and drag out the process in an effort to confuse voters and muddy the waters. And in some states, we will face an unfriendly judiciary.”

Pat Moore said that ensuring the DNC formally nominates its presidential and vice presidential candidates ahead of any state deadlines is about ensuring voters in every state have their ballots counted in November.

“Past is precedent: Trump and Republicans have already made it 100% clear that they will challenge the validity of the results if they lose on Election Day,” Pat Moore said.

“If we take chances with state processes and deadlines, Republican groups could make the same argument to challenge Democratic votes in the post-election setting, arguing that our nominee should never have been on the ballot in the first place,” Pat Moore added. “We should not and must not give them that opportunity.”