Biden's House Democratic detractors demand DNC halt early nomination vote
WASHINGTON — House Democrats concerned about President Joe Biden's chances to defeat Donald Trump are circulating a draft letter calling on the Democratic National Committee to halt a vote planned for as early as next week that would expedite Biden's confirmation as the party's presidential nominee.
The letter, which several House Democrats are expected to sign, argues the DNC vote is no longer needed after Ohio ? the state that originally prompted the accelerated nomination vote ? changed its law to give Democrats more time to formally nominate Biden.
"There is no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action which would effectively accelerate the nomination process by nearly a month," the letter, obtained by USA TODAY, reads. "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."
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Instead of waiting for next month's Democratic National Convention, Democrats decided in May to nominate Biden during a virtual roll call to ensure that Biden makes the deadline to appear on the ballot in Ohio.
Ohio'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. The DNC convention is set for Aug. 19 to 22 in Chicago.
But 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.
"Proceeding with a 'virtual roll call' in the absence of a valid legal rationale will be rightly perceived as a purely political maneuver, which we believe will counterproductive and undermine party cohesion," the House Democrats' letter reads.
DNC standing firm on virtual vote
Among those who intend to sign the letter, according to Axios, are 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. In all, at least 24 congressional Democrats have called for Biden to withdraw from the race after Biden's disastrous June 27 debate performance against Trump, the Republican nominee, ignited fears within the party about his reelection bid.
A date for the DNC's virtual roll call nomination vote is still not set.
The national party committee's rulemaking arm is scheduled to meet Friday morning to put the roll call vote into motion. They are expected at the meeting to give authority to DNC Jaime Harrison and DNC Secretary Jason Rae to conduct the vote before Aug. 7.
Harrison, the DNC chair, said in a statement that the party remains committed to holding a virtual roll call ahead of the convention, noting the process “remains on schedule and unchanged from when the DNC made that decision in May.”
“We look forward to nominating Joe Biden through a virtual roll call and celebrating with fanfare together in Chicago in August alongside the 99 percent of delegates who are supporting the Biden-Harris ticket,” Harrison said.
DNC members told USA TODAY they're concerned that Republicans in Ohio, including LaRose, could still seek to have Biden kept off the ballot on a technicality even with the new law. The law does not go into effect until Aug. 31, more than a week after the Democratic National Convention.
"Why would we trust a Republican legislature and a Republican governor who already tried to keep Joe Biden off the ballot with ridiculous legal challenges if we don't officially nominate the president before August 7?" DNC rules committee member Maria Cardona said. "So we're not going to risk it. We don't trust them."
New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley also charged that Ohio Republicans involved in the process have "proven themselves to be untrustworthy" by previously threatening to withhold Biden's name from the ballot.
"So I'm not willing to take their word," Buckley said.
LaRose's office pushed back forcefully in a statement on the accusations of potential election meddling coming from Biden-backing Democrats.
“The issue is resolved in Ohio, and Democrat proxies know that and should stop trying to scapegoat Ohio for their own party’s disfunction. Remember, they only ran into an issue with the deadline in the first place by scheduling their convention after the well-established deadline under Ohio law. Now that their candidate is clearly floundering, they blame Republicans," said Ben Kindel, press secretary for the Ohio Secretary of State's office.
Biden has rejected calls from some elected Democrats to relinquish his delegates and quit the ticket since the June debate. He has said repeatedly that he does not plan to drop out.
Biden detractors say not to short-circuit debate
The Democratic Party is currently "engaged in a careful consideration and debate about the absolute imperative of defeating Donald Trump and winning control of Congress," the letter circulating among House Democrats says.
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Some of the House members who intend to sign the letter want Biden to drop out of the race, others want him to remain, and some haven't made a decision, it says.
Regardless of their position on Biden's candidacy, the letter says moving ahead with the virtual vote could "deeply undermine the morale and unity of Democrats ? from delegates, volunteers, grassroots organizers and donors to ordinary voters ? at the worst possible."
"We respectfully but empathically request that you cancel any plans for an accelerated 'virtual roll call' and further refrain from any extraordinary procedures that could be perceived as curtailing legitimate debate or attempting to force an early resolution of the party nomination," the letter says.
"The Democratic Party must nominate its presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention, in regular order, as we always have."
Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden's Democratic detractors tell DNC to halt early nomination
