This week kicks off the 4-day Democratic National Convention (DNC), the party’s first-ever virtual national convention due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It will be held from Monday, August 17, to Thursday, August 20 (Tuesday, August 18, to Friday, August 21, 9 am onwards, Manila time).

The event takes places as President Donald Trump attempts to limit mail-in voting for the November 2020 polls.

What is a convention?

In the US, it is where a party votes and announces its presidential and vice presidential nominees. 

The convention is also where party members announce the party’s 2020 platform.

You might ask: But isn’t former vice president Joe Biden the democratic nominee? Not yet – formally, at least. He is still the presumptive nominee because the party has to officially announce it first. Same with his running mate vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Online convention

This convention will be different: No roaring sounds. No celebratory mood. Few speakers. Limited airtime. 

Instead, people will be watching from their televisions, laptops, and mobile phones.

Much like the rest of the world, the pandemic has forced the party to scrap plans for a face-to-face event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – a key swing state.

The event will still be managed from the Wisconsin Center but speakers – including Biden and Harris – will deliver remarks, some prerecorded, from different places. Party delegates will also cast ballots remotely. (READ: Obamas to anchor key slots at Biden’s Democratic convention)

“This will be certainly different than any other convention. You’ll see fewer podiums but you’ll see more people in living rooms. You’ll see them on factory floors and schools and communities. And I think it’s going to be an opportunity to really capture the moment,” DNC chair Tom Perez told The New York Times.

The live programming was also reduced to two hours nightly, from 9 pm to 11 pm Eastern Time (9 am to 11 am Manila time).

Biden is scheduled to formally accept the nomination, the highlight of his years-long political career, in a seemingly anti-climactic manner near his residence in Wilmington, Delaware.

Speakers

The list of speakers is subject to change but here’s what the DNC committee provided on its website:

• Monday, August 17 (Tuesday, August 18, Manila time): Former first lady Michelle Obama; Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont; Senators Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Doug Jones of Alabama, and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Representatives James Clyburn of South Carolina, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and Gwen Moore of Wisconsin.
• Tuesday, August 18 (Wednesday, August 19, Manila time): Dr Jill Biden, former acting US attorney general Sally Yates, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York, former secretary of state John Kerry, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, and former president Bill Clinton.
• Wednesday, August 19 (Thursday, August 20, Manila time): Harris, former president Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Gabby Giffords, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
• Thursday, August 20 (Friday, August 21, Manila time): Biden; California Governor Gavin Newsom; former South Bend, Indiana mayor and former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg; Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and Chris Coons of Delaware; and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

– Rappler.com