Several thousand delegates must begin voting this Thursday, August 1 to formally designate Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for the US presidential election in November against Donald Trump, an online process lasting several days, a new illustration of the unusual nature of this campaign. Less than two weeks after the withdrawal of Joe Biden's candidacy for a second term, a historic decision having completely reshuffled the cards, the current vice-president managed to win and faces no rival in her camp.
Typically, the official inauguration of the candidate takes place in person at a major party convention, scheduled this year in Chicago from August 19-22. But due to procedural requirements in the state of Ohio, Democrats decided to pre-empt this vote, online. A rare procedure but which should be similar to that of 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Voting is scheduled to begin Thursday morning and end late Monday. The Democratic Party has not detailed how the vote may or may not be monitored on a day-to-day basis and how its results will be announced.
The fight at the polls against Donald Trump in November promises to be tough, with the polls now showing him neck and neck with his Democratic rival. Less than 100 days before the American presidential election, the Republican stepped up his attacks against Kamala Harris, going so far as to accuse her on Wednesday of presenting herself as black for electoral reasons. Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, she is the first black and Asian person to become the American vice-president.
