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Press Releases on Nominating Reforms
Democratic National
Committee
July 17, 2018
DNC Unity Reform Commission Statement on Presidential Nominating Reforms
DNC Unity Reform Commission [URC] Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and Vice Chair Larry Cohen released the following statement on proposed reforms to the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating process, which the party’s full membership will vote on in August:
“We are proud to fully support the Rules and Bylaws Committee’s proposals for substantially adopting the Unity Reform Commission’s recommendations. Following the 2016 Democratic National Convention, the URC was established by party members with a mandate to review our party’s presidential nominating process and make meaningful reforms to strengthen our party and expand its reach. After several meetings, we proposed our recommendations for making our party more accessible, transparent, and inclusive. Since delivering our recommendations to the DNC last December, DNC Chair Tom Perez and the members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee have worked diligently to develop the new processes through which we will select our presidential nominees in future election cycles.
“These new reforms will increase participation, empower our candidates to be more competitive across the country, bring new and unaffiliated voters into the party, broaden our base at the grassroots level, expand the use of primaries, and make caucuses more accessible to people like shift workers and overseas military personnel. Notably, in a reform that we fully support, the new rules will reduce the influence, whether real or perceived, of unpledged delegates.
“These proposed reforms carry support from this commission made up of individuals that represent the vibrant, diverse quilt that makes up the Democratic Party. As such, we are confident that we’re going to head into 2018 and 2020 a stronger, more unified, competitive, and energized party that is welcome to every voter who shares our values.”
Jully 16, 2018
TOMORROW: Unity Reform Commission Receives Briefing on Rules and Bylaws Committee Progress
WASHINGTON—At
2:00
PM EDT on Tuesday, July 17, the Democratic National Committee’s
Unity
Reform Commission will hold a telephonic briefing for members.
Commission
members will receive a comprehensive update on the work of
the
Rules and Bylaws Committee to review and incorporate URC
recommendations
into the documents that govern how the party operates.
The
telephonic briefing will be open to the press and public.
Throughout
2018,
the Rules and Bylaws Committee has worked diligently to implement
the
most significant reforms to the party’s presidential nominating
process
in decades. Using the report of the Unity Reform Commission as
a
guide, the RBC has advanced reforms that expand the use of primaries,
make
caucuses more accessible to people like shift workers and overseas
military
personnel, empower the grassroots of our party and make our
operations
more transparent. Last week, the committee unanimously
adopted
language that implements previously adopted reforms to
eliminate
the role that automatic delegates have previously played in
the
presidential primary process, leaving it to the will of the voters
to
decide the Democratic nominee and putting the party in the best
possible
position to win in 2020. This reform also goes further than
the
Unity Reform Commission’s recommendation.
Under
this
reform, which now heads to the full DNC, all automatic delegates
(or
“superdelegates”) would not vote on the first presidential
nominating
ballot at our convention unless a candidate has already
earned
enough pledged delegate votes from state primaries and caucuses
to win
the nomination. Therefore, superdelegates would not be able to
overturn
the will of the voters.
The
Rules
and Bylaws Committee originally voted unanimously to adopt this
reform
last month. In March, the full DNC voted in principle to reduce
the
role that unpledged delegates play in the presidential nominating
contest.
The full DNC will vote on final passage of this reform next
month.
This
conference call is open to the public.
Members
of the public: RSVP and dial-in information can be obtained here
for the members of the public.
Media:
Press dial-in information will be provided upon RSVP here.
WHAT:
DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Conference Call WHO:
Members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee WHEN:
Tuesday, July 17, starting at 2:00 PM EDT
July 10, 2018
TOMORROW: DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Meeting
WASHINGTON—On July 11 and 12, the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet in Washington, D.C. to take final action regarding the call for the 2020 Convention and finalize both the Delegate Selection Rules and the Charter and Bylaws Amendments previously considered at the Providence meeting.The meeting will be open to the press and public. Both days begin at 9:30 AM EDT.
At the Rules and Bylaws telephonic meeting last month, the committee took the step of voting in favor of eliminating the role that unpledged delegates (commonly known as “superdelegates”) have traditionally played in the presidential nominating process by preventing them from voting on the first presidential nominating ballot unless a candidate has already earned enough pledged delegate votes from state primaries and caucuses to win the nomination.
Throughout 2018, the Rules and Bylaws Committee has worked to implement the most significant reforms to the party’s presidential nominating process in decades. Last week’s vote followed through on a vote by the full DNC membership in March that called for reducing the influence of unpledged delegates in the presidential nominating process, expanding the use of primaries, taking steps to protect the right to vote, making our caucuses more accessible, increasing transparency in our party and increasing grassroots participation. These reforms will continue to make our party more competitive in every ZIP code in 2018 and beyond.
The Rules and Bylaws Committee received the recommendations of the Unity Reform Commission in December and completed its work by the June 30 deadline, which included the crafting of any rules, bylaws, or charter amendments necessary to implement these recommendations. Their recommendations will then go to the full DNC for consideration at the summer meeting.
Media: Press must RSVP here.
WHAT: DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Meeting
WHO: Members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee
WHERE: Embassy Suites Convention Center
900 10th St NW, Washington, DC 20001
WHEN: July 11–July 12, starting at 9:30 AM EDT