According to DNC officials and a document obtained by CNN, candidates will need to declare their interest in becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee for president by filing a formal declaration of candidacy, meeting party and legal qualifications to be president, and gathering at least 300 delegate signatures, with no more than 50 from a single state.
The window of time for candidates to declare their interest will be short, one DNC official said, and would end by this week.
Under the proposal, the DNC will share with delegates a candidate directory, which will include names and contact information for candidates to allow delegates to opt into information from campaigns.
However, while the DNC intends to have a Democratic nominee chosen by August 7, exactly when virtual voting would begin has yet to be determined and would depend on factors like how many candidates are ultimately able to obtain support from the necessary 300 delegates.
If only one candidate were to reach that threshold, for example, the party could move more quickly to begin the virtual voting process, the official said. If multiple candidates qualify, there would be a period of a few days for candidates to make their case to delegates.
A date for the start of the virtual voting process, therefore, has not yet been set, but it could be as early as August 1.
