A Democratic National Convention Rules Committee hearing was held on Friday.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning, and welcome to the first meeting of the Rules Committee of the 2024 Democratic
00:08National Convention. Pursuant to the notice of June 19th, this meeting of the Convention
00:15Rules Committee is hereby called to order. For those of you whom I have not met yet,
00:21my name is Leah Daughtry, and I serve as co-chair of this Rules Committee alongside my new best
00:29friend, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. I've worked at the DNC as Chief of Staff under
00:37Governor Howard Dean and Governor Terry McAuliffe. I was CEO of the National Convention in both
00:432008 and 2016, and I have served as a member of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee, or
00:52RBC, since 2012. So I know just a little bit about the rules, and hopefully by the time
00:59this process is ended, you too will be a rules geek, or maybe you'll run screaming
01:04into the night, I don't know. As noted in our July 17th email, today's meeting we
01:10will discuss a framework for how the convention will operate and how a virtual voting element
01:17prior to convention would work. We do not intend to hold any votes today. At our next
01:25meeting, the committee will consider permanent rules for the convention, the convention agenda,
01:31the permanent officers, and any other matters proposed for this committee's consideration.
01:39Before we formally begin, please join me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
01:48I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for
01:54which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
02:07Thank you. Let me now pass the microphone to my co-chair, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
02:14Governor?
02:15Thank you, Bishop Daughtry. It is a privilege to serve alongside you. Your wisdom, your
02:23passion, your experience for this work will serve all of us in our country well. Good
02:28morning to everybody who's on here. The Bishop and I will have a few opening words before
02:32we walk through today's work and agenda. But before that, we're going to hear from our
02:39chairman, DNC Chair Jamie Harrison. And I just have to say, it was Chairman Harrison's
02:45leadership that led us through a historic midterm, and I will have to say, for me personally,
02:51helped in my reelection bid in 2022. He did that by teaching us that year-round organizing
02:58is the key to making sure it happens. And I think from the electoral victories that
03:02are historic, it was more than that. It was Chair Harrison's leadership that made our
03:06party reflect the diversity of our nation, more accurately deflecting the whole electorate
03:11and giving people a seat at the table. So with that, it's my privilege to introduce
03:16to you DNC Chair Jamie Harrison.
03:20Well, thank you so much, Governor. Thank you for your leadership. And yes, folks, it is
03:24cold in Minnesota in October. I had to put a hat on this big round head. But hello to
03:30each and every one of you. Thank you all for being here. I'm honored to speak with you
03:34all today, but I'm even more honored to be the chair of this great party. You know, the
03:39Rules Committee plays a critical role for our party and for our convention by adopting
03:44the permanent rules of the convention and the convention agenda. I want to thank Governor
03:49Tim Walz and Bishop Leah Daughtry for their leadership in guiding this process, but I
03:55want to thank them also for their friendship. As I'm sure you all have heard, there's been
03:59some talk about the Rules Committee, just a little bit. But I want to be crystal clear
04:05here. We are moving forward with the process that we set out in May. And in that process,
04:12we are ensuring that our Democratic nominees are on the ballot in all 50 states and the
04:19District of Columbia. No part of this process is rushed. The timeline for the virtual roll
04:24call process remains on schedule and unchanged from when the DNC made that decision back
04:30in May and voted to ratify in mid-June. As Bishop Leah Daughtry and Governor Tim Walz
04:37said in their letter to you all, we will not let extremism in Ohio corrupt the Democratic
04:42process. This election comes down to nothing less than saving our democracy from a man
04:48who has said that he wants to be a dictator on day one. So we certainly aren't going to
04:54tempt fate by inviting challenges to placing the Democratic ticket on the ballot throughout
04:59this country. And thanks to you, we will execute the most successful convention in our party's
05:06lifetime. Thanks to every single one of you, we will re-nominate President Biden and Vice
05:12President Harris and defeat Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. You're on this committee because
05:17you are Democrats who believe in our democracy and you believe in our nation. You believe
05:22in the electoral process and every voter having a voice and who represents them. After all,
05:30these are the values our founders fought for. These are the values America was built upon.
05:37These are the values that generations of Americans have fought to strengthen and protect. These
05:42are the values of the Democratic Party. So today, that's exactly what we're going to
05:47do. We will discuss a rules process that is critical for democracy and our country's future.
05:55My friends, we're all in this together. And I'm so glad that you're here today. Every
06:00voter in this country will have the equal opportunity to vote for our nominees because
06:05of you. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris will be re-elected because of you. Because of you, we can look
06:14forward to nominating our president through a virtual roll call and celebrating with fanfare
06:19together in Chicago alongside all of our delegates who are supporting the Biden-Harris ticket.
06:26So before I give up the floor, I want to once again thank Bishop Leo Daughtry and Governor
06:31Tim Walz. Your dedication and commitment is admirable. Also, thank you to our wonderful
06:37Rules Committee and to all of our amazing staff for your hard work on this process.
06:43So thank you all again for being here and for your continued support of our Democratic
06:47Party. Now with that, I would like to turn this back to Governor Tim Walz.
06:53Thank you, Chair Harrison. Thank you for your passion, your work ethic, your optimism.
06:56And yes, you were out here in the cold of Minnesota to make sure that we won a trifecta
07:01and improved lives. My fellow members, thank you. Thanks for believing in our country and
07:06thanks for doing this work. I want you to think about and today we'll make sure that
07:12the clarity of what we're doing leads to that process of electing our president and making
07:18sure we continue on that path. So we're working today with this committee to establish a framework
07:24for our convention. Today we will address why a virtual vote is needed, how exactly
07:30it will work, and how it will complement the in-person convention. And we need to ensure
07:34that our work is open and transparent. So here's what today's agenda will look like.
07:39My co-chair, Bishop Daughtry, will describe the nominating process that has led to today.
07:44Governor White House Counsel Dana Remus will walk us through the legal and the ballot considerations
07:49that shape our decision-making. DNC and convention officials will share with us what to expect
07:56with virtual voting, what to expect at the in-person convention. Bishop Daughtry will
08:02walk through key components for your consideration of the draft rules. Together, Bishop Daughtry
08:07and I will share with you what the committee can expect going forward and take time to
08:11address your questions. If you do have a question at any time, please submit it by
08:17sending it through the chat, Member Support 1 or Member Support 2, and we'll get them
08:22answered. We've already had a few submitted. We will take those, and then we'll continue
08:26on with the ones that you submit. Let me turn it now back to Bishop Daughtry to get us started.
08:34Thank you, Governor. Before we dive into the substance of our meeting, we must establish
08:39that we have a quorum. In order to do so, we need each committee member to please open
08:46the Rules Committee Meeting homepage on your browser and mark Yes on the screen. If you're
08:54having trouble, please use your signal group, or you can send a chat to Member Support 1
09:02or Member Support 2. Rules Committee members will use this to register their presence.
09:09Again, go to the Rules Committee Meeting homepage on your browser and mark Yes on the screen.
09:17A quorum is constituted by a majority of the total votes present, members representing
09:2391.75 votes. Our parliamentarian, Helen McFadden, will inform us of the status of the quorum
09:53Okay, our parliamentarian informs me that we do indeed have a quorum. So let's dive
10:01in. To start us off, we want to address some of the issues that you may have been hearing
10:06about and the legal landscape we are operating in. So let me introduce Dana Remus. You know
10:13you can't go anywhere without a lawyer, and Dana is our lawyer for this rules process.
10:19She served as President Biden's first White House counsel and was general counsel for
10:24his successful 2020 campaign. Dana, take it away.
10:30Thank you, Bishop Daughtry and Governor Walz for inviting me to speak with the Rules Committee
10:34today. I'm going to briefly describe how our nomination process is the key to ensuring
10:41that the Democratic candidates for president and vice president are on the ballot in every
10:47I'm also going to address a few of the legal challenges that have been threatened by the
10:51Republicans and the heritage action against our candidates. Those challenges provide important
10:57context for how and why we are thinking about ballot access deadlines differently than we
11:03have in the past. So to take a step back, in every state and in the District of Columbia,
11:09the Democratic Party is of course considered a major party whose nominees, if nominated and
11:15certified by a specified time, are printed on the ballot. In many states, the required
11:21certifications must be filed in paper form with notarized signatures from the candidates themselves
11:29and from party officials. And while that may sound like minor technicalities, I can tell you
11:36from experience that the certification process requires time and coordination and logistical
11:43hurdles inevitably arise along the way. So we really do need enough time to ensure that the
11:49filings are done correctly in advance of any deadline. That's how we ensure we're not leaving
11:55room for legal challenge. And the deadlines for these filings begin to run on August 20th,
12:02the first of which is the state of Washington, whose 12 electoral votes are of course key to
12:10our pathway to victory. Other large critical Democratic states follow in short order,
12:16including California on August 22nd and Virginia on August 23rd. And of course, in every state in
12:24the country, we will have tens of thousands, if not many millions of voters who are supporting
12:31the Democratic ticket. That includes Montana and Oklahoma, whose deadlines are on August 21st.
12:38We need to ensure that those voters are able to vote for the Democratic ticket on the ballot.
12:46Now, in past cycles, certain of these states accepted provisional certifications by the
12:53deadlines with the formal paperwork to follow following formal nomination. And certainly,
13:01some states have indicated that they're still willing to do that today. But the problem is
13:07that unless a state law specifically states that a provisional certification is effective,
13:13and many state laws do not, we can and should expect a lawsuit from the Republican Party or
13:20from a conservative group challenging the certification. And unfortunately, at this
13:26moment in time, we have to assume that everything about the election process that Republicans and
13:32affiliated groups can challenge, they will challenge, no matter the strength of their
13:37arguments. We've already seen a wave of litigation this cycle with the DNC involved in nearly two
13:44dozen cases with the RNC and aligned groups. And it was fresh, certainly in my memory in 2020,
13:55when Donald Trump and the RNC filed nearly 70 post-election lawsuits challenging every aspect
14:01of the process. They've stated publicly their intent to bring even more litigation this time
14:08round, including when there's where there's opportunity around ballot access. Litigation
14:16over whether our nominees should be on the ballot is at best a distraction and a delay. The cases
14:23have to be resolved before ballots can be printed, before mail ballots are sent out, and before early
14:30voting begins. That delay and distraction is something that we can't afford, and it's something
14:37that we have been working to avoid through this planning process.
14:43Certainly anyone who has run for office or was advised candidates running for office
14:50knows that ballot access deadlines are not something to take risks with respect to.
14:57They're not risks that we as a party can or should take. Now, from ballot access deadlines generally
15:05that start running in the end of August, I want to come to the special case of Ohio, which has
15:12gotten a lot of attention and been the subject of discussion this week in particular. For several
15:19presidential cycles, Ohio had changed its ballot access deadline as a matter of course to accommodate
15:26both parties, Democratic and Republican, but they were not willing to do so this year. Until early
15:33June, Ohio was still adhering to its August 7th deadline. Then a concerted push from Governor
15:40DeWine and Ohio Democrats broke through and got a change in the law delaying the deadline until
15:47early September. That is obviously a very good development, but there is a complication, which
15:53is this. Ohio law requires a two-thirds legislative majority for bills to take effect immediately.
16:01Otherwise, there is a 90-day waiting period. Given here that this did not pass pursuant to a two-thirds
16:09majority, the new deadline doesn't actually take effect until September 1st, which means that when
16:16we hit the August 7th deadline, that will still be the deadline in effect. If we don't file by
16:24that original deadline, we'll technically be out of compliance with Ohio law from August 7th until
16:30the end of the month, leaving the door open to a potential legal challenge, and that's a risk.
16:37How significant of a risk? Well, it's hard to say, and people certainly disagree and reasonably
16:43disagree, but it is a risk, and if we can avoid it, we should. 2.7 million Ohioans cast ballots
16:51for President Biden and Vice President Harris in 2020, and we shouldn't risk effectively
16:58disenfranchising them this cycle if we can avoid doing so. Our goal as a party, of course, is a
17:06Democratic ticket that will be elected and that will enact the party's platform. My goal as Council
17:12is to ensure we address and avoid all unnecessary legal risk along the way, and that's why we need
17:21a virtual nominating process. It's why the wisest, most prudent course is to have that process conclude
17:29in time to allow us to file a certified nomination in Ohio by August 7th. So I hope that background
17:38as to why a virtual roll call is so important to guard against Republican litigation and the
17:47significance of the August 7th deadline is helpful. And with that, I will pass it back to Governor Walz.
17:57Thank you, Dana. We appreciate that. I think we'll go now to the Bishop to talk a little bit
18:02about background on how we ended up here, of someone who has the experience to tell us that. Bishop?
18:07Sure thing. So let's talk a little bit about the background of the rules process and how we
18:13get to this point. The convention is actually the final step in the nominating process
18:20that was implemented beginning in September 2022 when the Democratic National Committee adopted
18:27the call to convention, the call to convention. The call was adopted in 2022, but the Democratic
18:35Party had actually begun work on developing the process almost the moment our historic and
18:42successful 2020 election concluded. This work includes people throughout the DNC, including
18:49its Rules and Bylaws Committee, which I have been a member of since 2012, and throughout each and
18:56every one of our 57 state parties. By this point in the process, the Democratic Party of every state,
19:05the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the four territories, and Democrats abroad has
19:11established and completed a delegate selection process. As part of that process, which began in
19:19early 2024 and concluded in June, millions of Democrats have cast ballots. Every state party
19:28has chosen delegates allocated according to those votes, and every state delegation has chosen
19:36members of the convention's standing committees, including this Rules Committee. This process took
19:43many months. The first delegate to the DNC was elected in March. The last pledged delegate was
19:52certified to the party just days ago. Since the spring of 2023, the convention had been set for
20:01August 19th to 22nd in Chicago. The timing is in line with past conventions of parties with incumbent
20:12presidents who by tradition go second. Democratic conventions in 1996, 2008, and 2012 were held
20:22during the same week or later, in the case of 2012, much later, in early September. Our historic
20:312008 convention, that was my convention, was held at the end of August, with the Republican convention
20:38following in September. Republicans, similarly, have held conventions during the third week of
20:45August or later in 1984, 1988, 1992, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2020. In the past, as a matter of course,
21:02states have worked with the parties to ensure that this timing would cause no conflict with
21:07state election laws. But because Donald Trump and the Republican Party view elections as impediments
21:16rather than the foundation of our democracy, what was once routine in the world of elections no
21:23longer is. With that, I will turn over to Governor Walz, who's going to introduce our presenters,
21:30the next set of presenters. Governor?
21:35Well, thank you, Bishop, for that clear description of the historical reasons
21:42how we ended up here, to Dana for why we run the convention, both virtual and in person.
21:49Grateful for that, to set that tone. Now we're going to hear from the folks who are going to
21:53tell us how this is actually going to operate, what the convention will look like. DNC Secretary
21:58Jason Ray is going to be joining us to discuss the function of the Secretary's Office in terms
22:03of delegate certification and balloting participation, and will provide an insight
22:07how the DNC executed successful virtual voting at our last convention. Following the Secretary,
22:13we'll hear from Andrew Binns, Senior Advisor to the Convention and former Convention COO,
22:18who will walk us through the technical, behind-the-scenes aspects of making sure a remote
22:24ballot functions. After Andrew, Convention Executive Director Alex Hornbrook will walk
22:28us through the in-person convention of what you can expect when you join us on August 19th to the
22:3422nd for some great time and good Democratic politics in Chicago. With that, Secretary Ray,
22:40take it away. Well, thank you so much, Governor, and it's great to be here today with the members
22:46of the Convention Rules Committee. I just want to start by just thanking all of you for your
22:50service to our party in this important role. I know that my office has been working closely with
22:55each of you through the certification process, and I'm thankful to everyone for being so engaged
23:00and responsive. As the Secretary of the Democratic National Committee since 2017,
23:05I'm honored to be here as we prepare for the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
23:10In addition to my responsibilities to certify and prepare the role of all 4,000-plus convention
23:16delegates, as DNC Secretary, I'm also responsible for executing the voting process
23:22that allows our delegates to conduct the important business of the party that they
23:26were elected to do. I really appreciate the invitation from Co-Chairs Bishop Daughtry
23:31and Governor Walz to speak today. I thought it would be helpful to this committee to hear a bit
23:36about the process that we used in 2020 to vote, a process that not only met the extraordinary
23:42challenges posed by COVID-19, but also ensured that our party's business was conducted smoothly,
23:49securely, and inclusively. I know that following me, you'll hear from Andrew Bins, who served as
23:55the COO of the 2020 convention and was instrumental on the technical side of this. I'll leave the
24:01technical details to him, but I want to focus on the steps we took and how the process actually
24:06worked for our convention delegates and our state parties. To adapt to the circumstances of 2020,
24:13we developed a remote electronic voting system. This system was meticulously designed to be secure,
24:20user-friendly, and reliable. Each delegate received an individualized ballot with unique
24:27identifiers via email, ensuring that every vote could be accurately tracked and verified.
24:34Now, we know that our delegates represent a diverse cross-section of our country,
24:38and that not everyone has the same access to technology or the internet. As such, to address
24:44any potential technical issues or technology challenges, alternate methods of voting were
24:50available to delegates. In 2020, voting on convention business began on August 3rd and
24:58ended on August 15th, in advance of the start of the 2020 convention. During this period,
25:06each certified delegate was provided with clear instructions for completing and submitting their
25:11ballot electronically. After everyone completed their ballots, delegates submitted the completed
25:17ballots through secure email systems set up by our convention tech team. Now, accessibility is
25:24really important in this process, and so we also provided instructions to delegates on how they
25:28could use a screen reader for accessibility. Additionally, my office took on the responsibility,
25:35alongside staff from the convention, to host trainings for our state party staff on this
25:40voting process so state parties can ask questions that they may have, but also to help them be
25:44prepared if their delegates reach out to them with questions. In advance of the ballots being
25:49distributed to delegates, my office, along with the campaign, hosted multiple trainings for
25:54delegates. These trainings were very important to us. We also set up a delegate hotline where delegates
26:01could call in during the voting window to talk to a live person and get answers on their questions
26:06with how to submit their ballots. Now, I'm proud to say that the feedback from our delegates in 2020
26:12was overwhelmingly positive. They appreciated the ease and security of the remote voting system.
26:19The process allowed them to fulfill their crucial role in placing our nominee on the ballot in every
26:24state. The successful implementation demonstrated our party's resilience and adaptability in the
26:31face of challenges. As we look forward to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, I'm confident as
26:38Secretary of the DNC that the lessons learned and the systems that we developed in 2020 have
26:44prepared my team well to execute the important voting that we need to do this convention.
26:50In my experience, the processes we developed in 2020 were robust, secure, and ran very smoothly
26:57for our delegates and our state parties. I'm proud of what we created to ensure we could conduct the
27:02important business we needed as a party. Again, thank you to Co-Chairs Bishop Daughtry and Governor
27:08Walls for the invitation to be here. And most importantly, thank you again to the Rules Committee
27:13for your time and commitment to ensuring a smooth and democratic process for our party.
27:19Now, I'm delighted to turn the call over to my friend and colleague, Andrew Bins.
27:25Thank you, Jason. Good morning, all. As Jason mentioned, my name is Andrew Bins. I'm a
27:30Senior Advisor here at the convention. I've been a staff member on the convention since 2004
27:38and served alongside many of you over the cycles, including the good Bishop.
27:44One of the areas that I helped design and operate at the convention since 2008
27:49is the convention voting, including the 2020 voting process at the last convention.
27:54Wanted to give you all a briefing on that process, what it looked like, and the successes of it.
27:59So in 2020, we needed our delegates to be able to vote on convention business from wherever they
28:04were. To do that, we devised a system that was accessible and flexible while still being secure
28:10and simple to operate and participate in. The convention and the Secretary's Office created
28:17individual ballots with various security features that linked them with the individual delegates.
28:23Those were emails to delegates at their known email addresses that they have already given
28:28to the Secretary's Office within the Certify system, which is a system that certifies their
28:33information as delegates. The ballots were fillable PDFs that required delegates to
28:38simply check their selection for each vote. The delegate then emailed that ballot back
28:45to the delegation's secure inbox and state parties and DNC and DNCC staff monitored those secure
28:53inboxes as ballots came in, verified the security features, and entered the votes into the ballot
28:59tracking system. When a ballot was entered, the system would generate an email to the delegate
29:05informing them that their ballot was received, entered, and would display their votes in an email
29:11to the delegate. If there were any concerns, the delegate was given a person to contact.
29:18For those delegates that were unable to complete the electronic ballot, we offered other options
29:23of casting their vote, including by phone, to one of our staff members who would verify their identity
29:29and accept their vote and record it. Of the 4,747 ballots that we sent out,
29:374,732 were returned. That's a 99.68% submission rate. That meant only 14 ballots of the 4,747
29:49were not returned. 45 delegations reached 100% completion.
29:57And prior to that and during the process, we conducted over a dozen briefings and trainings
30:02for state parties, affiliated groups like the political departments and staff of the committees,
30:07and the delegates themselves. We understood that training staff and delegates was vital
30:13to the success of the program and feel to this day it's one of the reasons that we had
30:18nearly a 99.7% return rate. So that was our very successful 2020 voting process,
30:26and I'd like to note that it wouldn't have been possible without the help and support of many of
30:30you all on this committee, along with the Secretary's office and the PADS office. And
30:34with that, I'd like to hand it over to our Convention Executive Director, Alex Holmberg.
30:39Thank you, Andrew, and thank you, co-chairs and members for having us today. So on behalf of our
30:52team and our incredible convention chair, Mignon Moore, wanted to just let you all know that we
30:57are really excited to welcome you to Chicago in 31 days. Today is July 19th. We will be here in
31:05Chicago on August 19th, and it's going to be an unbelievable week and productive week for us. So
31:11we're going to share some materials for you, which I think someone is going to share on the screen
31:14here for me. But we have been out here in Chicago for over a year after a really thorough, rigorous
31:21process that Chair Harrison, Secretary Wray, a number of our other officers and leaders participated
31:26in. We selected and announced Chicago as our host city for the 2024 convention back in April of 2023.
31:34So we've been here for over a year preparing to welcome all of our delegates as well as our
31:39additional guests and media coming to cover our activity. And I think, are we getting the slide,
31:45the material up on the screen? Hopefully. Okay. Well, hopefully we're going to be getting the,
31:52here we go. Okay, perfect. So as we go click through here, thanks for your patience. Someone
31:58can advance us. We, you know, view our week here in Chicago as a critically important opportunity
32:05to conduct not just the important party business that the Secretary and other folks have been
32:10talking and will continue to talk with you about throughout this process, but this is also a
32:13critical opportunity for us as a party and to get to tell our story directly to voters where they
32:20are. So we have been, you know, working here in Chicago at the United Center to build both a
32:26literal and figurative stage for the President, the Vice President, and everyone here to be able
32:32to communicate about the incredible record of accomplishment that our party from our leadership
32:37in the White House on down on to Democrats at the state and local level have to brag about here,
32:43as well as the stakes, you know, of the upcoming election in November. And we know we have to do
32:47this in really new and interesting and creative ways. And so drawing upon, you know, some of,
32:52not only coming together as we have prior to 2020 in person, but also drawing on some of those really,
32:57you know, strategic and innovative techniques that we pioneered out of necessity in 2020.
33:04So we're looking forward to this opportunity to really get in front of the voters on TV,
33:09sure, but also in a variety of other ways. And hopefully all of you have seen some of the
33:14interesting things that we've done so far here in Chicago, including launching the first of its kind
33:18creator program, where we are credentialing content creators in the similar way that we
33:24credential traditional media, because we know that a lot of voters, particularly young voters,
33:27are getting their information in, you know, from much different sources in different ways than
33:33other folks have or than folks have in the past in our fractured media environment. So it's a really
33:38really big opportunity, not just for the top of the ticket, but for Democrats, you know, across
33:43the party to take advantage of this moment in August in Chicago to tell Americans, you know,
33:47what we're all about. We can advance to the next slide, please.
33:53We are excited to be here in Chicago, which we'll see in a second. There we go. It's an
34:01unbelievable host city, especially for an event of this size and this scope and this impact.
34:05We really find, you know, this is one of the largest and most diverse, robust, vibrant cities
34:11in America, and is right here in the heart of the Midwest, which all of you are obviously
34:16well aware is a critical area for the president and our party. Powered victories in 2020. It
34:22powered a lot of the victories that people were not anticipating us having in 2022 at the state
34:27and the local level in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, all over the Midwest here. So we
34:32have a great opportunity to, you know, again, tell that story, tell the story of, you know,
34:36the Biden-Harris administration accomplishments that we can see right around us here in Chicago,
34:41across Illinois, across the region, and across the country of how, you know, Democratic policies
34:45in action are impacting people's lives every day, making them better. And on top of that,
34:50we have just an unbelievable infrastructure, which we'll highlight on our next slide here.
34:55Many of you have been to many conventions. We've had a lot of really great host cities who had a
34:59lot to brag about. But here in Chicago, one of the biggest advantages that we have, one of the
35:04reasons that the president and Chair Harrison selected Chicago is that we have the opportunities
35:09of this really huge and vibrant city, but we are also able to execute our convention in this really
35:13kind of compact and easily navigable way. We want to make sure that you all who are here to do the
35:18important work of our party are able to focus on that work and not be worried and stressed about
35:23how you're going to, you know, get about the city and get about your day. And so we're going to be
35:28hosting our daytime party activities at McCord, which we'll touch on in a second, at McCormick
35:33Place, a beautiful facility right on Lake Michigan, just south of the Loop. The United Center is just
35:38west of downtown where we'll host our evening proceedings. And then all of our convention
35:44hotels are located within a five-mile radius of both of those facilities. So that's just a huge,
35:50you know, improvement over some of our previous situations. Folks will not have to be, you know,
35:56traipsing all over creation to get to their hotels at night. And we're going to have all of our
36:01delegations staying at just eight union properties right downtown in large Chicago.
36:06And we can go ahead and advance to the next slide here. So we know a lot of the important work that
36:11you'll be doing will be taking place in the, within the context and construct of our official
36:16DNC caucuses and councils. The schedule was just shared with members very recently, but we are
36:21going to have four, you know, packed days that the Secretary's Office has worked along with our
36:26colleagues here at the DNC to put together and make sure that everyone has the opportunity for
36:32that, you know, in-person collaboration and community building that we, you know, were
36:36obviously robbed of four years ago and are really excited to bring back here in Chicago.
36:43I can go ahead and move on.
36:47One thing we want to flag for you all, as I know we're talking about our official convention
36:51business, but we do want to plug, since many of you are leaders of or affiliated with other
36:56organizations and folks who are planning activities here in Chicago, our host committee has put
37:00together some incredible resources that you'll find on their website. We have a directory of
37:05over 2,000 local venues and businesses, over 70% of which identify as diverse-owned businesses,
37:11something that under, you know, Chair Harrison and Chair Moore's leadership, we've been hyper-focused
37:15on ensuring that the economic impact of our activity here is felt as broadly and equitably
37:19as possible across Chicago. And so we have lots of really amazing, small, local, minority-owned
37:26women, LGBTQ+, veteran-owned businesses that are really eager to do business with us. So please,
37:31as you're going about your business here in Chicago, check that out and make sure that we
37:36are patronizing all those folks who are really eager to partner with us. We're also really
37:41proud that we've hit our 12,000 volunteer sign-up goal already, but of course always eager for more
37:47folks who want to lend a hand and help. So please do send any volunteers and prospective volunteers
37:51that you know who are interested to the website there to fill out that form.
37:56And click through. Just want to touch on a couple other quick points. Obviously, we know safety and
38:01security, top of mind given, you know, recent events, protest activity, etc. And so just wanted
38:07to, you know, touch on this, reassure everyone that, you know, the United States Secret Service
38:11has been here. This is not a, you know, typical event. They have been here as long as we have,
38:16over a year, the convention designated as a national special security event. And so
38:22we've been working very, very closely daily with our partners, our counterparts at Secret Service,
38:27the Chicago Police Department, and all of the various levels of state, local, state, and
38:31federal law enforcement. And we have, you know, great confidence in their plans, you know,
38:37keeping our guests, our delegates, everyone visiting here, as well as the residents of
38:42Chicago safe, is obviously everyone's top priority. And we remain in, you know, very close touch,
38:48adjusting as necessary. But these folks have been here for a very long time, but a significant
38:53amount of time and resources into this planning. Chicago Police Department has offered 400 plus
38:58hours of additional training, both to their frontline officers, as well as commanders,
39:03will be, you know, decision makers on the ground. This is, you know, we obviously are Democrats. We
39:07are the big tent party. We embrace that, you know, the fact that folks have a variety of opinions on
39:12all sorts of issues. And we know that there's going to be folks who come here to exercise their
39:16First Amendment rights. And we are very, you know, we're eager to respect and protect and facilitate
39:22their ability to do that, while also ensuring a safe and successful convention, again, for all of
39:27our attendees and for the people of Chicago who are just trying to live their lives here.
39:32If anyone has any questions about that, you know, you can be sure to get in touch with us after,
39:35and we'll be happy to talk about it in more detail. And then final things I want to mention,
39:39as you all are, you know, planning your time to come here and be with us in person,
39:43accessibility is something that obviously we always try to prioritize as Democrats. This is
39:47something Chair Harrison has really centered in our process and our planning from day one.
39:53And so this is, you know, Robin Jones is our accessibility advisor. She's a, you know,
39:57full-time employee or consultant to both the convention committee, as well as our local host
40:03committee, working with all of our venues, all of our hotels, all of the, you know, systems and
40:07processes that will be, you know, logistical in nature, but also conducting a lot of outreach.
40:13She works closely with our DNC Disability Caucus and has also met one-on-one with many,
40:18if not most of our state delegations to understand, you know, their needs and
40:22what they're looking to be able to do so that we can make sure that we are, you know, living up to
40:26our commitments to be the most inclusive that we possibly can be as we execute this event.
40:32And then similar vein of living our values, we have a full-time sustainability advisory
40:38group that is helping us to think through all of, again, our kind of processes, our venues,
40:44and identifying ways that we can ensure through action and through the communication and education
40:51of our delegates and our attendees that we can be executing the most sustainable event that we can
40:56and leaving a legacy for future Democratic National Conventions and hopefully for future
41:00large events of all kinds. And I think that that is all that I had to say, and I'll just close
41:07the way we opened, which is that we're really excited to have you all here. It's going to be a
41:10really busy, really exciting, and really productive week, and so we look forward to seeing you in
41:15four short weeks. Thank you all. Thank you. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm supposed to kick it back to
41:22co-chair Bishop Doctrine. Thanks, Alex. Thank you, Secretary Wray, Andrew Benz, and Alex Hornbrook
41:31for those presentations. I'm excited about being in Chicago. Thank you for the work that you have
41:36done to make this a fantastic experience for all of us. And for my Rules Committee members,
41:44I hope that you gain some information so that you can plan and prepare appropriately for your time
41:50in Chicago for the business that we must do, but also to enjoy Chicago, enjoy each other, and get
41:57ready for the days ahead as we march to November. So let's talk about the rules. Our rules experts
42:05at the DNC are continuing to develop the draft rules for the convention. We want to walk through
42:14the key points that you can expect to see in a draft rules when they are circulated to you for
42:21your consideration in the coming days. As you know, the 2024 call to convention sets forth temporary
42:31rules for the convention, which are recommended to the committee. We expect the draft rules to
42:38adhere as closely as possible to the 2024 call while incorporating a virtual vote component
42:47for the presidential nomination, as well as any issues that might require a vote before that
42:53nomination. The virtual vote component will use the 2020 process as a baseline. So here's what we
43:03can tell you now about how we expect the virtual voting component will work in the draft rules.
43:10No voting will take place before August 1st, and then only as directed by the chair and the DNC
43:19national chairperson. There will be a 24-hour notice period before the first round of
43:26virtual voting begins on the presidential nomination. Clear direction on the deadline for
43:34a round of voting so that delegates have all the information they need to cast a ballot
43:40for president. Delegates will receive all e-ballots to be returned within the voting window
43:48with cybersecurity protections. Many issues will continue to be addressed
43:55just as they are in the 2024 call. These issues include whether the votes of automatic delegates,
44:03sometimes called superdelegates, will count on the first presidential roll call, and also how to
44:10qualify for the virtual nomination process. Under the draft rules, a majority of delegates
44:18voting on the nomination will be required to secure the nomination. The draft rules also provide for
44:26an in-person component. Our platform will be adopted by in-person vote, a ceremonial roll call
44:34confirming the nomination of president and vice presidential candidates, acceptance speeches for
44:41our nominees. Moving forward, we expect to convene next week, and we will let you know the precise
44:53date and time by early next week. In advance of that meeting, you will receive draft rules for
45:00the committee's work. A summary of them, this committee's proposed rules of procedure, and the
45:08convention agenda. We will make sure that you have these materials with sufficient time to review them
45:15before our next meeting. Let us now take a moment to address any questions that have been submitted
45:23during the course of this call.
45:27Well, thank you, Bishop. And for folks, we have a few already submitted. Megan, I see yours in the
45:32chat. We'll get to that, too. We'll go in order here. I first went up, I had Jocelyn Woodward,
45:38Woodards, excuse me, Jocelyn. And after you ask your question, we'll have experts answer.
45:42Go ahead, Jocelyn.
45:44Good morning, Governor Walz and Chair Daughtry. I just wanted to ask a question about,
45:52is it possible that another candidate can challenge President Biden in a virtual vote?
46:02I'll take that one. Per the convention rules, any challenger would have to have the verified support
46:09of hundreds of delegates. The 2024 call, with the details of what you will receive next week,
46:15incorporates those rules, and so will the rules that you'll be voting on,
46:21in terms of how someone gets on the virtual ballot. But where there is a presumptive nominee,
46:27such a challenge has never happened over the past half century of competitive primaries.
46:33But those rules remain in place today, just as they were yesterday, and just as they have been
46:39in countless presidential election cycles before that. I hope that answers your question.
46:47Governor Walz?
46:57Thank you. Next up, Courtney French, question.
47:01Good morning. Again, thank you, Governor. Thank you, Bishop, as well for your leadership,
47:06as well as the leadership of the DNC. My question is, are superdelegates allowed
47:14to vote in a virtual roll call?
47:22Hi. Good morning. Good afternoon, I should say. My name is Veronica Martinez. I am the Director
47:26of the Party Affairs Department, and I'm happy to step in. I think I just heard
47:32Governor Walz mention, helping answer this question. Under the rules, superdelegates are
47:38permitted to vote in the first round of voting. That's because the president is the presumptive
47:42nominee. He has an overwhelming majority of the convention's 4,700 delegates. His more than 3,900
47:48pledged delegates alone is sufficient to deliver him an overwhelming majority and the nomination,
47:54and so that is the case with superdelegates.
48:02I got it. Oh, thank you. Nathalie, you're next.
48:13Hi, everyone. First of all, thank you so much for making this so accessible to
48:17those of us that are new to the process. I just want some clarity. So, are you saying that
48:23the virtual nomination process must be completed by August 7? I just want clarity there.
48:33Governor Walz is going to turn it over to me, or I should just start.
48:37Great. Sorry about that. A little unmute trouble there. It absolutely should be. The legal risk
48:42should be avoided everywhere it can be avoided, especially listening to Dana about today's
48:47environment where Republicans and aligned groups like Heritage have really announced their intent
48:51to bring every possible lawsuit they can to mess with us and to mess with Democratic voters,
48:56and especially hearing about the 70 or so lawsuits last time really brought that point home for me.
49:03And if the process weren't to be completed by then, we would really need to prepare to
49:06take every step necessary to defend our legal position that the Democratic nominees should
49:12and will be on the ballot in Ohio. We anticipate that those would be aggressive legal challenges,
49:16and they've already been threatened by Republicans and Heritage Foundation,
49:20so it really should be before August 7, yes.
49:22Simon, next up.
49:32Thank you, Governor Walz, and thank you, Bishop Daughtry. It's great to be here today. Thank you
49:36for getting this process started. My question is, could you help us get a sense for what the
49:41ballot will actually look like this year? Sure. We have a good example from 2020 about what ballots
49:50should look like for this process. As we heard from Andrew Bins, a very successful balloting
49:55process in 2020 that was easy and useful by our delegates and accessible, so you can expect the
50:00ballot to look similar to 2020. President Biden as the presumptive and only qualified nominee will
50:06be listed, and then under our rules, delegates may also select present, may mark their preference as
50:11present. Heather, next up.
50:23Hi there. Good afternoon. Thank you for such an informative session for your leadership.
50:28My question is, how will the date, how is the date going to be selected for the virtual roll call?
50:34Okay, I'll take that one. Thank you, Heather, for the question. So let me just restate that no voting
50:40will take place before August 1st, and then only as directed by the chair and the chair of the DNC.
50:50So prior to the selection of a roll call date, of a virtual voting date, the Rules Committee must
50:56first, that's you, must first adopt the rules of the convention, including the format by which the
51:03roll call is conducted. In this case, the Rules Committee must include the rules of the convention
51:11that vote, the rules of the convention that the vote is to be conducted electronically prior to
51:17the in-person convention in Chicago. Only, the date can only be set once we have passed the rules,
51:25and then at that point, the chair and the chair of the DNC will direct the date and the issue
51:32of the ballots. Veronica, why don't you take the rest of them that are coming in? I know we had
51:39Megan in chat, and we have a few hands up, so I'm going to turn it to you, Veronica. Great,
51:44absolutely, and so I'm just going to find the chat question here, just one second.
51:51Oh, will the Rules Committee be voting next week on whether a virtual vote will happen?
51:56Is this already decided? As we, as we already discussed here, you know, the committee will
52:00vote on the rules for the vote next week. We've heard from our experts today, though, that it is
52:05really important to ensuring our nominee is on the ballot in all 50 states in D.C., so we don't want
52:10to disenfranchise voters or risk the legitimacy of this, and so we should be doing the virtual vote
52:17by August 7th, and as referenced earlier, we need to be prepared for very aggressive litigation
52:24options as well. Sorry, give me one second here to correspond with the team about hands.
52:43Okay, great, and I'm hearing from the team, we will be answered to ask, oh, and I see one
52:52here, how much notice will we have before the next rules meeting? I think we'll hear from
52:57Bishop Daughtry in just a moment as we close up here that there will be notice provided for the
53:02next meeting, and I believe it's 48 hours notice, but she'll share that with us at the end here,
53:07which is a good segue over to Bishop Daughtry, because I'm not seeing any more questions in my
53:12chat here, and so there is an email address, I think it's what the Rules Committee had done,
53:17it's in your email that you get as a Rules Committee member to send your additional questions.
53:21We'll follow up with that after this as well, but Bishop Daughtry, I will turn it over to you.
53:26Thank you, Veronica. This meeting was convened pursuant to notice on June 19th.
53:34We have not completed the business outlined in that notice, and the co-chairs proposed that
53:39we recess this meeting to the call of the co-chairs to meet not later than Friday, July 26th at noon,
53:48and providing that members will receive notice of the reconvening of this meeting
53:53a minimum of 48 hours in advance of reconvening the meeting. Is there an objection to such a recess?
54:07Hearing none, this meeting will be in recess, subject to the call of the chairs,
54:12with at least 48 hours notice before the next meeting. Please be on notice, please be on the
54:18lookout for the notice of that meeting. Thank you for joining us today. Have a great weekend. God
54:24bless you.