RI Democratic Reps Don’t Have to Vote for Biden at the DNC

Providence Journal Staff
| Providence Magazine

President Joe Biden has ended his re-election campaign less than a month before the Democratic National Convention.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden said in a letter to Americans. “And while it was my intention to be re-elected, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and our country to step down and focus the remainder of my term solely on my duties as President.”

So what happens now with Rhode Island’s Democratic delegates? Are they still willing to vote for him at the DNC?

Here’s what we know:

More: Joe Biden drops out of 2024 race, endorses Kamala Harris: Live updates

How many Democratic representatives does Rhode Island have?

The Rhode Island Democratic Party is sending 30 delegates and two alternates to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention from August 19-22.

That’s out of a total of 3,896 delegates across the country.

That number includes the state’s two U.S. senators, two U.S. representatives, the governor and other dignitaries.

The remaining 14 seats were chosen during the primaries on April 2, 2024.

More: What happens to ballots in Rhode Island now that Biden has withdrawn from the race?

Should Democratic Congressional Representatives Vote for Biden?

Delegates do not have to vote for Biden during the convention.

Like many other state parties, the Rhode Island Democratic Party has a “good conscience” clause in its plan for selecting delegates for the 2024 Democratic National Convention. That plan was drafted in March 2023.

That line, 13.J, reads:

Delegates elected to the national convention who have committed themselves to a presidential candidate must honestly reflect the feelings of those who elected them.

The magazine has reached out to Liz Beretta-Perik, the state’s Democratic Party chair, for further comment and clarification.

What’s happening now at the DNC?

That depends on whether a virtual nomination takes place prior to the congress itself.

According to reporting from USA Today, the DNC Convention Rules Committee debated holding a virtual roll call and nomination to cement Biden’s nomination — something the Rhode Island delegation opposed.

Now that the presumptive nominee is out of the race, the party will have to either hold a virtual nomination or an extremely rare public convention to determine the nominee.

Journal reporter Kathy Gregg, Katie Landeck of the USA Today Network New England and USA Today contributed to this report