AILSA CHANG, HOST:

So, with President Biden out, what happens to his delegates?

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Well, what seems simple - voting in a primary - actually has many layers. When Democrats checked the box for a candidate, they voted for an unnamed slate of delegates. Those delegates promised to support the winning candidate at the party's convention, which is happening next month in Chicago.

CHANG: That's right, or as the party rules state, quote, "all delegates shall, in all good conscience, reflect the sentiments of those who elected them."

SHAPIRO: But as Congressman Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, explained on Morning Edition, this unusual year will reflect the unusual reality that conventions can involve open voting.

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JAMIE RASKIN: Of course, it's open because all of us who are delegates can vote for whomever we please. So it is by definition open.

CHANG: Even though President Biden has endorsed Vice President Harris, delegates will ultimately make their own decisions. Amy Dacey is former CEO of the Democratic National Committee.

AMY DACEY: Those delegates are going to be able to vote for either Vice President Harris or, if another candidate gets in, one of those candidates. But it's like anything with a representative democracy, you're voting for those delegates to represent you at the party convention.

SHAPIRO: Dacey, who's currently the executive director of the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University, says, at the convention, Harris needs to reach a simple majority - roughly 1,900 votes - to secure the nomination.

DACEY: But you can't make that assumption. That's why you'll see her talking to many as delegates as she can to get support. And then these are the delegates that ran on the same ballot with Joe Biden and were elected by voters who voted in the primary process. And these are the voters who decide.

SHAPIRO: So in a year when an overwhelming majority of delegates were pledged to someone who's bowed out, a lot hinges on whether someone decides to challenge Vice President Harris for the nomination.

CHANG: But so far, she seems to be consolidating endorsements. Just today, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her enthusiastic support for Harris is, quote, "official, personal and political." Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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