Will DNC Give Sanders Supporters the Full Roll Call Vote They Seek?
"If they skip it, I imagine there's going to be... a lot of anger," says Jeanne Harris, a nurse from Los Angeles
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders does a walk-through of the convention stage before his speech Monday night. (Photo: Reuters)
Bernie Sanders' name will be placed in nomination and there will be a full roll-call vote on the Democratic National Convention (DNC) floor on Tuesday night, according to reports.
The Los Angeles Times noted Monday that Sanders supporters "fanned out across Philadelphia on Monday morning, collecting signatures to ensure the Vermont senator gets a roll call vote on the convention floor."
Indeed, RIFuture reported:
At the Rhode Island delegation breakfast this morning, a volunteer from Pennsylvania was circulating among the tables collecting some of the required 600 delegate names. "It's so that there can be a roll call vote, so people can actually say if they're for Bernie Sanders," said Lauren Niedel, a Sanders delegate and one of the leaders of the Sanders movement in Rhode Island.
According to a separate LA Times report:
Whether a roll call will be taken to nominate Clinton has been a topic of negotiations between the Sanders and Clinton campaigns. Eight years ago, after the last contentious Democratic primary, the vote was theatrically interrupted by Clinton, asking for unanimous support of then-Sen. Barack Obama.
Sanders backers are wary of attempts to prevent them from voicing their support for their chosen candidate.
"If they skip it, I imagine there's going to be... a lot of anger," Jeanne Harris, a nurse from Los Angeles, told the paper.
After Sanders spoke to roughly 1,900 delegates on Monday, his wife Jane Sanders approached the podium and was caught on the still-live microphone telling her husband: "They don't know your name is being put in nomination, and that's the concern..."
Campaign spokesperson Michael Briggs clarified to MSNBC that Jane Sanders "means there will be a roll-call vote and the senator's name will be placed in nomination."
Even Brian Fallon, Hillary For America's national press secretary, told a media briefing on Monday morning: "We anticipate there will be a roll call vote tomorrow night and that every vote will be counted. We're happy to have it. It is exactly in keeping with our philosophy that every vote should count and that means every delegate being counted on the floor of the convention."
Still, according to the Associated Press on Monday, Sanders has "left open the possibility that Clinton could receive the nomination by acclamation—or unanimous nomination—at the end. That may not satisfy Sanders delegates. Some are ready to boo or even walk out if there is a unanimous nomination."
And Heavy reports that "earlier in the day, a Democratic official told NBC that Sanders would turn his delegates over to Hillary Clinton during the roll call vote and all 50 states would be counted. So there's a bit of confusion as to what's actually going to happen. This may be why Jane said something to Bernie after his speech."
Sanders will address the full convention in a prime-time speech on Monday night.
Meanwhile, several news outlets reported Monday afternoon that the independent Bernie Delegates Network, a group that includes 1,250 Sanders delegates, is "actively exploring a challenge to Sen. Tim Kaine's (Va.) vice presidential nomination," as The Hill put it.
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Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Party, Election 2016, Philadelphia, Barack Obama