Wisconsin delegates cast their vote during the ceremonial roll call vote on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 2024.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
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CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago throughout the week bringing you the latest on the Democratic National Convention.
Delegates to the Democratic National Convention held a ceremonial — and celebratory — roll call vote to mark what they’d already made official earlier this month with a virtual vote: Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection as the party’s presidential nominee.
The unconventional roll call was facilitated by a DJ, with a unique songs playing as the call moved from state to state: “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd for Alabama, for example. Florida’s song was “Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty (possibly a snarky reference to the Never Back Down, Inc., super PAC, set up to encourage Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ unsuccessful presidential candidacy?).
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Loud cheers went up from the convention crowd as the voting moved from state to state. Participants announced their support for Harris and Walz, and touted their individual states’ accomplishments, including the Hawaii delegation, which noted its status as the birthplace of former President Obama, and Illinois, where Obama won the first victory of his presidential campaign in the 2008 caucuses.
Several high-profile Democrats who’d been discussed as potential running mates for Harris participated in the roll call, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Participants also called attention to key issues of importance to Democratic voters, including reproductive rights and gun violence. Representing Nevada was a survivor of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.
Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood and daughter of the late former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, introduced Kate Cox, a Texas woman who became a Democratic activist after being turned away for an abortion under Texas law.
The count wrapped up with a nod to the candidates’ home states — California for Harris and Minnesota for her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz.
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