The Convention Rules Committee is co-chaired by Governor Tim Walz and Bishop Leah Daughtry. The Rules voted on today by the full Committee establish a virtual nominating process for the presidential nominee and set the stage for a dynamic in-person Convention in Chicago, where the delegates vote to approve the Democratic Party platform, have ceremonial and celebratory votes on the nominees, and host historic acceptance speeches from the new Democratic ticket and voices throughout the Party.

A timeline for the nomination process, a summary of the Rules, and an outline of the process for both candidates and delegates is outlined below.

“As a Party, it’s our obligation to design and implement a fair nomination process for delegates to formally express their preferences through a vote to select an official presidential nominee of the Democratic Party who will go on to top the ballot in November,” said DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. “As extreme Republicans try to chip away at the faith in our institutions, the work of our Rules Committee and the responsibility of our delegates to cast their votes in the days to come proves that our democracy is strong. The work ahead may be unprecedented, but we are prepared to undertake a transparent, swift, and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a nominee who represents our values and will lead us to victory in November.”

“We have taken an important step today to put our Democratic ticket on every general election ballot nationwide and on a path to winning in November,” said DNCC Chair Minyon Moore. “We are confident that the process we’ve laid out is secure, democratic, and critical to our defense against bad-faith litigation coming from Republicans and dark money groups as they once again put partisan games above the will of American voters. Today we stood up clearly to say: we will not let you. The Convention in Chicago will be a critical moment for our party — not only to rally around our nominees and showcase their bold platform for the next four years — but to bring delegates to the table to vote on our Party’s platform and conduct a ceremonial state-by-state roll call that has long been a beloved tradition of our Party.”

Summary of the Rules

• Candidates for nomination must declare their candidacy by filing with the Convention’s Secretary. The window for submission opens shortly after the Rules are adopted by the Committee during their meeting, and closes at 6:00 PM ET on July 27. 
• Candidates for nomination will have until 6:00 PM EST on July 30 to demonstrate that they have met the qualifications for nomination, which include:
  • (1) File a formal and notarized declaration of candidacy with the DNC; 
  • (2) Meet Party and legal qualifications to be President; and 
  • (3) Secure 300 delegate signatures electronically, not more than 50 of which may come from one delegation.
• If only one candidate for nomination demonstrates they have met the above qualifications, electronic voting by the delegates may begin as soon as August 1.
• If more than one candidate for nomination qualifies, the Rules specify that the DNCC Chair and the DNC Chair can allow a period no longer than five days in between the close of nominations for President (July 30) and the beginning of voting for candidates to make their case to delegates and the public. 
• The DNCC Chair and the DNC Chair may open voting on the Presidential nominee no earlier than August 1, 2024.
• Only the votes of pledged delegates will be included in the count on the first ballot, unless a candidate has the verified support of a number of pledged delegates equal to or greater than a majority of all pledged and automatic delegates.
• In the event that a nominating contest for President moves beyond the first ballot, the votes of pledged and automatic delegates will be counted in subsequent ballots. 
• A majority of Convention delegate ballots who are eligible  to vote during that roll call shall be required to nominate the presidential candidate.
• Once a Presidential nominee is selected, the nominee may place a Vice Presidential candidate into nomination. The Convention Chair may then declare that candidate to be the Vice Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.  
• At the Convention in Chicago celebratory and ceremonial votes to recognize and affirm the presidential and vice presidential nominees of the Democratic Party will be taken, including a state-by-state roll call for the presidential nominee.

Candidates and Delegates

• Technical Process: The technical processes for (1) conducting a virtual nominating process through signature collection, and (2) a virtual roll call will largely reflect the process used successfully and securely in 2020.
• Candidate Declaration of Intent: Candidates intending to pursue the nomination must declare their intent by July 27, 6:00 PM ET, to the Convention’s Secretary and should include an unnotarized but signed copy of Appendix E of the Call for the 2024 Democratic National Convention as well as links to the candidate’s website and contact email address to be included in the Candidate Directory. Appendix E requires the candidate to confirm they are a member of the Democratic Party and will run and serve as a Democrat, if elected.
• Candidate Directory: In order to facilitate campaign and delegate communication, the DNC will provide a Candidate Directory to delegates. The Directory will list Candidates’ names, website, and contact email for delegates to opt in to communications from campaigns. Once delegates have indicated that they want to hear from a candidate, the candidate will receive the delegate’s contact information.
• Signature Collection: As soon as tomorrow, the window will open for declared candidates to obtain and file a petition demonstrating a threshold level of support from delegates.  The deadline for a petition reflecting at least 300 delegates, but no more than 50 from a single state, must be filed by 6:00 PM ET on July 30.
  • Each delegate will receive a personalized nominating petition form. When  returned, it will be verified and tallied. Each nominating petition form has a range of security features to establish the authenticity and accuracy of each petition. Clear instructions and technical support will be provided to Delegates. 
  • Reporting on the number of signatures returned will be provided directly to campaigns.
• Appendix E: Candidates for nomination must make sure that their declaration of intent paperwork due on 6:00 PM ET on July 27, is notarized, as called for in the paperwork itself, by 6:00 PM ET on July 30.
• Virtual Roll Call: The technical process of conducting a virtual roll call will largely reflect the process used successfully in 2020.  Voting will begin no earlier than August 1.
  • Each delegate will receive a personalized virtual roll call voting form. When  returned, it will be verified and tallied. Each roll call form has a range of security features to establish the authenticity and accuracy of each vote. Clear instructions and technical support will be provided to Delegates. 
  • Reporting on the number of votes returned will be provided directly to campaigns. 
  • The system will allow for as many additional rounds of voting as are necessary to declare a winner, which requires a majority of delegates’ votes.