What is the purpose of the Democratic National Convention?

Show Caption

The Democratic National Convention is when the Democratic National Committee gathers to officially choose its presidential nominee, sets its policy priorities for the coming election and rallies support with speeches and other performances.

The convention is the final step in a long process that started early in the spring with the primary elections.

How do primaries work?

In the primaries, registered members of each party voted for a presidential nominee to represent their party.

Republicans had a choice between former President Donald Trump and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley while Democrats chose between President Joe Biden and others including Rep. Dean Phillips, D-MN.

But, much like with the electoral college for presidential elections, there’s a kind of “middle-man” process after that and before the party nominee is officially decided on.

When voters make their choice in the primary, they’re actually choosing party delegates —representatives who go to the convention later in the year and vote among themselves to choose a presidential candidate.

They do this much in the same way that members of Congress are elected to vote among themselves on laws, though delegates aren’t legally elected officials, just party members.

Like the electoral college or the House of Representatives, different states have different numbers of delegates, in this case that's based on how many party-registered voters live there.

Rules are different between states but in certain places delegates have to vote for the candidate that won their state or their district.

When some people called for an “open convention,” after the Democratic Party’s crisis of faith in Biden as a candidate this summer, they meant they wanted all the delegates to be allowed to vote for whoever they wanted.

In the past, there was a lot of uncertainty and a wide range of possibility at the convention — it was hard to predict who would come out ahead and there were often several rounds of voting before the nominee eventually rose to the top.

In more recent times, the primaries usually decide the party’s nomination. The delegates’ vote is more of a rubber stamp on voters’ choice than a decision they make when they gather in the stadium.

What changed when Biden stepped aside?

This year is unusual because of Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, after many Democrats said publicly that he wasn’t a strong enough candidate to win.

Harris didn’t run in the primary this time around but, since Biden dropped out, the convention became open and the delegates could vote however they chose.

Harris officially won an online vote among Democratic delegates in early August — the first time a vote’s ever been held remotely.

Because of that, this week’s in-person vote at the convention will be ceremonial. The convention will be more about drumming up enthusiasm and unity than the procedure of nailing down a candidate.

You can watch a livestream of the Democratic National Convention, which runs Monday through Thursday, here.