On December 21, 2018, the DNC issued 2020 Democratic National Convention documents, including the Call, Rules, and Regulations (see below). These documents were drafted over 90 hours of public meetings by the Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) and its excellent staff. The RBC carefully considered and implemented many of the recommendations of the Unity Reform Commission. The next step in the process is for each of the 57 “states” to draft their own Delegate Selection Plans, which are to be offered for public comment by April 3, 2019 and submitted to the RBC by May 3, 2019. The RBC must complete its work of approving or otherwise taking action on all plans by September 13, 2019.
The basic structure of the process is similar to past years, but there have been some changes. These changes will help grow our party, increase participation in our democracy, and put Democrats in the best possible position to win in 2020 and beyond. The National Plan changes, some of which must be reflected in state plans, include:
State plans must include descriptions of voter protection and expansion efforts (I was happy to contribute to this section).
Provisions regarding voter and election security have been updated.
States that select their delegates through party-run caucus/convention processes, as opposed to state-run primaries, must implement procedures to provide for greater clarity and accessibility.
States must provide information on the selection of presidential electors.
The delegate selection process must address non-binary gender delegates.
Democratic Distinguished Party Leaders, Governors, Members of Congress, and DNC members can be automatic delegates, but as such will not be able to vote for a Presidential nominee on the first ballot, if their votes could affect the result.
In addition to the existing requirement that Presidential candidates be bona fide Democrats, the candidates must provide an affirmation that they are Democrats, will accept the Democratic Parties nomination, and will run and serve as Democrats.