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Officials discuss possibility of hybrid Democratic National Convention

Posted at 1:39 PM, May 12, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-12 14:39:24-04

More changes could be ahead for the the Democratic National Convention.

It has already been pushed back from July until August, less than 98 days to go.

Now the Democratic party could be paving the way for a limited in-person gathering here in Milwaukee or even a virtual event.

Charles Benson has a first look at the plan.

"They very much want to participate," said Joe Solmonese, CEO of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

A lot of what is being planned for the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee this August falls under the leadership of Joe Solmonese.

We still don't know if it will be an in-person or virtual convention - but the party's rules committee is expected to change the rules Tuesday to allow, for example, a state with 200 delegates - to participate either way.

"How do we sort of create a process whereby all 200 of them have the opportunity to do the same things whether 150 of them are Milwaukee and 50 of them are at home?" said Solmonese.

Benson: So, in essence, maybe a hybrid convention?
Solmonese: Yeah, that's, that's, I think, that is what this change in rules allows for us to consider.

Solmonese says no final decision has been made on what type of convention will be held in Milwaukee or for how many days.

Benson: What, then, does that mean as to when a decision would be made on what type of convention, you would have in Milwaukee?
Solmonese: We've got time to think about just what sort of shape this convention would take. What this simply does is allow for us to put mechanisms in place to say if you're coming or not. We'll make sure there's a system in place to guarantee that you're able to participate.

With the still unpredictable coronavirus, Solmonese says public health and safety concerns will drive any final decision.

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