Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough votes from Democratic delegates to officially become the party’s nominee for president, according to Democratic National Committee chair Jamie Harrison.
Although the online voting process does not conclude until Monday, the campaign celebrated as she crossed the threshold for the majority of delegates’ votes.
Harris is set to be the first woman of color at the top of a major party’s ticket.
“I am so proud to confirm that Vice President Harris has earned more than a majority of votes from all convention delegates and will be the nominee of the Democratic Party following the close of voting on Monday,” Mr. Harrison said during a call with supporters.
Democrats have advanced with a virtual vote to nominate Harris, nearing the end of a turbulent process that was altered by President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election.
Delegates to the Democratic National Convention began voting via secure email on Thursday, and the voting will remain open until Monday evening.
Harris has not yet chosen her running mate and is expected to interview candidates over the weekend.
The formal nomination is anticipated to be finalized by August 7, although the party’s convention in Chicago is scheduled to begin over two weeks later.
Democratic officials stated the accelerated timeline was necessary due to an August 7 deadline to ensure candidates appear on the Ohio ballot.
Harris was endorsed by Biden shortly after he exited the race, propelling her to the forefront of the campaign to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump.
No other major candidate challenged Harris for the nomination, and she was the only choice for delegates under party rules requiring pledges of support from at least 300 delegates, with no more than 50 signatures from any one delegation.
Any delegate wishing to vote for someone other than Harris will be tallied as “present.”
Democrats still plan a state-by-state roll call during the convention, the traditional method for selecting a nominee. However, this will be purely ceremonial due to the online voting.
The party asserts that having its nominee in place before the convention opens in Chicago on August 19 is essential to meet ballot access deadlines in Ohio, an argument disputed by the state’s Republicans.
Ohio state lawmakers have since changed the deadline, but the modification does not take effect until September 1.
Democratic attorneys warn that waiting until after the initial deadline to determine a presidential nominee could prompt legal challenges.
