DNC to nominate Biden and Harris to bypass Ohio ballot issues

(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic National Committee will move to conduct virtual party proceedings to certify President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party nominees before Ohio’s Aug. 7 ballot certification deadline, and before their in-person convention beginning Aug. 19, the party confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday.

This will take a big moment away from Biden and the party — the official nomination at convention is typically met with fanfare and celebration, but he will become the official nominee virtually, without the pomp and circumstance.

The move came moments before the Ohio Senate convened on Tuesday for a special session to address Biden’s ability to appear on their general election ballot in November — which the GOP-led legislature has tied up with a separate bill related to campaign finance, something Democrats oppose.

“Joe Biden will be on the ballot in Ohio and all 50 states, and Ohio Republicans agree. But when the time has come for action, they have failed to act every time, so Democrats will land this plane on our own. Through a virtual roll call, we will ensure that Republicans can’t chip away at our democracy through incompetence or partisan tricks and that Ohioans can exercise their right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice,” DNC Chair Jamie Harrison said in a statement provided to ABC News.

The Biden campaign said that while there will be a virtual roll call and nomination of Biden and Harris, the DNC will still hold in-person ceremonial events for each process at their convention during the week of Aug. 19 in Chicago.

Neither the party nor the Biden campaign have confirmed a date when this virtual nomination could happen, but it will definitely be before the Aug. 7 Ohio ballot certification deadline.

To conducting the virtual roll call, the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will need to vote on Tuesday, June 4, on a resolution to propose changes to the call to allow for virtual party proceedings. Then, in the coming weeks, the resolution will be voted on by the full DNC membership. Once the resolution is adopted, the remainder of the pre-nomination process will follow the standard order of operations.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Mike Pappano contributed to this report.

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