Democrats to e-vote to confirm Kamala Harris as nominee

VP has won the support of 99 per cent of delegates who signed petitions, while no one else met the qualifying threshold of 300 signatures.

Kamala Harris campaigns in Houston, Texas, this week, Picture: AFP

Kamala Harris will be confirmed as the Democrat US presidential nominee in an electronic vote that started on Thursday (Friday AEST), replacing the fanfare of in-person balloting that usually kicks off the party’s national convention.

Less than two weeks after Joe Biden ended his re-election bid, his 59-year-old Vice-President is in full control of the party, having emerged as the only Democrat in the running to challenge Republican Donald Trump in November.

Just under 4000 delegates – the grassroots activists and politicians allocated during the primary process – sent in signatures backing Ms Harris to be on the ballot for the five-day vote.

No other Democrats have stepped forward to challenge her elevation to the top of the ticket, making her confirmation as the first black and South Asian woman ever to secure a major party’s nomination a formality.

She won the support of 99 per cent of delegates who signed petitions, the Democratic National Committee said in a statement, while no one else met the qualifying threshold of 300 signatures.

“Our delegates have an important responsibility – and opportunity – in the days ahead to cast their history-making ballots for Vice-President Harris, ensuring that she will be on the ballot in every state this November,” said DNC chair Jaime Harrison.

The roll call launched at 9am and delegates have until 6pm on Monday to return votes via an online platform run by the DNC.

The announcement could come late on Monday, as Ms Harris hits the campaign trail for a swing across seven crucial battleground states with her newly minted running mate, who has not yet been announced.

The DNC swapped to a virtual process, mirroring the pandemic-hit 2020 vote, because of Ohio’s August 7 deadline for major parties to submit the names of their certified candidates for the November election.

The DNC has not revealed if a rolling vote tally will be available to the public, and has not disclosed whether it would make the results public before the end of the voting period if they were available.

The virtual roll call marks the official beginning of the 2024 convention, although in practice the festivities get going when thousands of party faithful descend on Chicago on August 19.

There will be ceremonial votes for Ms Harris and her running mate in Illinois, in what is expected to be a raucous celebration of her rise from state politics to the top of the ticket.

Mr Trump’s White House bid was thrown into chaos on July 21 when Mr Biden, 81, withdrew his candidacy, backing Ms Harris as the Democratic nominee.

Since then, she has seen her favourability ratings jump as she has reeled in Mr Trump, who sparked a firestorm of outrage after the 78-year-old claimed falsely on Wednesday that Ms Harris had decided to “turn black” for political gain.

Ms Harris offered a restrained response, chiding Mr Trump that the “American people deserve better ... a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us, they are an essential source of our strength”.

The Republican former president has a long history of behaviour and remarks his critics have denounced as racist, from calling Mexican immigrants rapists and pandering to white supremacist marchers to dining with notorious anti-Semites.

Ms Harris took a break from the campaign trail on Thursday to assume the role of consoler-in-chief as she delivered the eulogy at the Houston funeral of US congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a long-time friend who died from pancreatic cancer in July.

“A few days before she passed, I called her and I expressed my sincere and deep gratitude for all she had done,” she said.

“And I told her she had such an impact on me and my life.”

AFP