Biden tapped Harris. But it’s DNC delegates who get to decide.

Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read

President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday, leaving the Democratic delegates he earned during the primary race in an unprecedented and potentially sticky situation.

The problem? Biden may have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee, but it's the delegates themselves who decide the Democratic party's nomination, and there is no automatic system to transfer them over.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attends an infrastructure event addressing high speed internet at the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 3, 2021.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attends an infrastructure event addressing high speed internet at the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 3, 2021.

Live Updates: Joe Biden drops out of 2024 race and endorses Kamala Harris: Live updates

The 3,896 delegates who will gather in August at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago can vote for someone other than Biden, even if he won their states' primaries earlier this year.

That's possible because of a section in the DNC rules referred to as the "good conscience" clause, which states delegates shall "in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them." The word 'sentiment' is where much of the delegates' support will hinge, and opens the door to all manner of interpretation.

Vice President Joe Biden greets delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 27, 2016.
Vice President Joe Biden greets delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 27, 2016.

Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and member of the DNC rules committee, told USA TODAY there is "no such thing as Biden releasing his delegates."

"The primaries elect delegates to the convention, but the legal authority for choosing the nominee of the Democratic Party, or for that matter, the Republican Party, is not the primaries, it is the delegates voting in convention," Kamarck said. "When that happens, you have a formal nominee."

Before Biden's announcement, Kamarck said that his endorsement of a replacement candidate could effectively steer his supporters' votes to someone else. Now that Harris has confirmed she will be running and with Biden's backing, it appears this is the route Democrats are taking leading into the convention.

With just four weeks before the convention, attention will undoubtedly shift to delegates, who, at this stage of the election, well after the primaries, hold the future nomination entirely in their hands.

USA TODAY elections fellow Sam Woodward contributed to this report.

Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Why Kamala Harris isn't the guaranteed Democratic nominee

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