Democratic National Convention 2016: All Your Questions Answered

The convention kicks off today in Philadelphia.

By
ALANA ABRAMSON, RYAN STRUYK, MARYALICE PARKS, STEPHANIE WASH, NANCY GABRINER and SHUSHANNAH WALSHE
July 25, 2016, 9:22 AM ET
4 min read

— -- 1. Who Will Be At The Convention?

2. What Do We Know About The Schedule?

3. What Is Going On With WikiLeaks And DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz And How Will This Impact The Convention?

4. How Does Hillary Clinton Actually Get Nominated?

5. Who Is Tim Kaine And How Did The VP Decision Go Down?

6. Are There Any Bernie-or-Bust Delegates At The Convention? What Do They Have Planned, If Anything?

7. What Will Security Be Like At The Convention?

8. Who Are These Delegates And How Did They Get Chosen?

9. Tell Me Some Fun Facts!

1. Who Will Be At The Convention?

  • The presumptive nominee: Hillary Clinton will formally accept the nomination Thursday night. She is not required to make an appearance before then. We know she is campaigning in North Carolina today.
  • Clinton’s family: Both former President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton are scheduled to speak: Bill Clinton on Tuesday and Chelsea on Thursday.
  • The VP candidate: Sen. Tim Kaine needs to be voted on and confirmed by the floor delegations. He will likely speak Wednesday night.
  • House and Senate Minority Leaders: Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are expected to be in attendance.
  • Clinton’s main primary rival: Sen. Bernie Sanders will be speaking tonight.
  • POTUS and FLOTUS: President Barack Obama will be speaking on Wednesday, and Michelle Obama will be speaking Monday night.
  • Michael Bloomberg: The former New York mayor, who considered a third-party run earlier this year, announced Sunday that he is endorsing Clinton. He will be speaking at the convention as well.
  • Other notable speakers include Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Cory Booker, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Rep. Gabby Giffords and California Gov. Jerry Brown.

    • 2. What Do We Know About The Schedule?

  • Hillary Clinton will be nominated on Tuesday in a roll call vote of the states and territories. There is a possibility Sanders will be placed into nomination as well.
  • Hillary Clinton will speak on Thursday. Chelsea Clinton will introduce her mother, just like Ivanka Trump introduced her father at last week's RNC.
  • Monday's theme is United Together. Gavel time is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sanders, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren are slated to speak.
  • Tuesday's theme is Lifetime of Fighting for Children and Families. Gavel time is 4 p.m. Madeline Albright, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former President Bill Clinton are slated to speak.
  • Wednesday's theme is Working Together. Gavel time is 4:30 p.m. Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine, President Obama, VP Biden, Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly will address the convention.
  • Thursday's theme is Stronger Together. Gavel time is 4:30 p.m. Speakers include Chelsea Clinton and Hillary Clinton.

    • 3. What Is Going On With WikiLeaks And DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz And How Will This Impact The Convention?

    What happened: On Friday, WikiLeaks released nearly 20,000 emails from top DNC officials from January 2015 through May 2016. We don’t know how those emails were obtained - Wikileaks is not revealing its source - although Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook says he thinks the emails may have come from Russian hackers. The emails showed how DNC officials grew increasingly frustrated with the Sanders camp. DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz referred to Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver as an a-- in one email. Sanders supporters were furious, and the senator called for her resignation in an interview on “This Week.” She resigned Sunday afternoon.

    Convention Impact: Wasserman Schultz may still open and close this week’s convention. When that happens, it is possible there will be boos and negative responses from Sanders supporters. Wasserman Schultz is not expected to give a major address. Originally, the plan was to have her open the proceedings, speak, and then hand over the gavel to Marcia Fudge, who has been appointed the permanent chair of the convention. Any address Wasserman-Schultz does give will be very brief. But whenever she is on stage, expect boos and jeering from Sanders supporters, who most likely want her absent from the convention entirely.

    3. How Does Hillary Clinton Actually Get Nominated?

  • First, Clinton must turn in a document with her written approval, the people who will make nominating and seconding speeches (20 min total) and the signatures of 300 to 600 delegates, with no more than 50 per state. It must go to the convention secretary no later than 6 p.m. on Monday.
  • It’s possible that Sanders also puts his name into nomination, getting a nominating speech and seconding speech. But in order for him to be placed into nomination, he has to give written approval - others can’t do it for him.
  • The order of nomination speeches is determined by the party chair, convention chair and each presidential candidate.
  • The convention secretary starts a roll call vote of the states in alphabetical order. Once every state has voted, the chair will announce the tally and declare Clinton the winner of the Democratic presidential nomination.

    • 4. VEEPSTAKES: Who Is Tim Kaine?

    Tim Kaine has already appeared at a rally with Clinton. He will address the nation at the convention on Wednesday. For analysis behind the choice, see Rick Klein’s article: http://abcn.ws/2a3PIIj

    What He Does Now: U.S. senator from Virginia. Elected in 2012. Serves on Armed Services, Budget, Foreign Relations and Aging Committees.

    What He Used to Do: Kaine served as DNC chair from 2009 to 2011. He served as governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 and lieutenant governor from 2002 to 2006. He served as mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from 1998 to 2001. He was first elected to office in 1994 as a Richmond city council member. He said he ran for city council because he thought it was too racially divided. He got his start as a lawyer handling civil rights and fair housing cases as well as representing death row inmates. He attended the University of Missouri and Harvard Law School.

    5. Are There Any Bernie-or-Bust Delegates At The Convention? What Do They Have Planned, If Anything?

    Most definitely. While the Vermont senator has officially endorsed Clinton, plenty of his supporters are still skeptical about the former secretary of state. The Sanders and Clinton campaigns came together and passed compromise documents in committee on the party's policy "platform" and "rules," but again, many Sanders delegates still feel strongly that their views were not totally represented. It is possible we will see disturbances or protests on the floor related to the transpacific-partnership trade deal or fracking when the convention formally adopts the platform proposal. Likewise, some attendees may express their unhappiness when the rules document is passed. (The proposal was to establish a commission that would discuss super delegates and caucuses and reach a decision by January 2018).

    A few progressive delegates have also threatened floor protests when Kaine is announced and colorful, celeb-filled protests and marches outside the arena and around the city are expected all week.

    As stated above, now that Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has officially resigned, expect booing - if not more - from the delegates who are hardcore Sanders supporters when she takes the stage to open and close the convention.

    6. What Will Security Be Like At The Convention?

    Philly Commissioner Richard Ross says there will be a “significant” amount of police officers in the city this week, but he declined to give an exact number for safety reasons. Security has been increased since the truck attack in Nice, France; additional barricades have been put up to keep cars from entering certain locations. Ross emphasized that the city has not received any credible threats. There are several protests already planned.

    7. Who Are These Delegates And How Did They Get Chosen?

    The pledged delegates were either elected directly on the ballot or at state and district conventions.

    8. Tell Me Some Fun Facts!

  • This is only the second time a Democratic convention will be held in Philadelphia; the last time was in 1948.
  • This is the second major event Philly has hosted this year; the pope visited last September.
  • As of July 13, Pokemon Go was allowed in the arena.

    • By the numbers: (attributed to the DNC)

  • 400 buses from the region will be used;
  • Per the DNC, there will be approximately 6,000 participants and 18,000 volunteers. 30,000 - 50,000 people are expected to come to Philly for the convention. (Including 15,000-20,000 members of the media).
  • 1,090 signs will be added to the arena complex.
  • Number of staff working per day (approximate): 475
  • There will be over 300 wireless access points, and 310 TVs displayed.