Clinton Campaign: Sanders Will Get Roll Call Vote
No attempt to silence Vermont senator's supporters at convention
Every delegate will be able to cast a vote during the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton campaign representatives said Monday night and Tuesday morning, quashing speculation that the formal roll call vote would be skipped in an attempt to silence supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“There is going to be a roll call vote,” campaign manager Robby Mook said on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday. “All 57 states and territories are going to cast their vote. All the delegates are going to have their voices heard. And you’re going to see Secretary Clinton win the nomination.”
Mook’s assertion reiterated a statement from Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon the previous day, that Clinton “welcomed a full roll call vote,” and came after Sanders, in his prime time speech on the convention’s opening day, preemptively thanked his supporters for casting their votes for him.
As many as 1,900 delegates are expected to vote for Sanders, but with 6,000 delegates and alternates at the convention, Clinton is expected to easily notch the 2,383 needed to formally receive the party’s nomination.
Sanders’ supporters have been collecting signatures on petitions calling for a roll call vote since the convention’s raucous opening Monday morning, saying they want to ensure that Democratic Party organizers don’t try to silence them.
The Clinton and Sanders campaigns had reportedly been negotiating whether a vote would take place, but by Tuesday morning, those conversations had reportedly shifted to whether Sanders, in a gesture of unity, would personally enter his formal rival for the formal nomination.
But some Bernie supporters were still holding out. Jeff Day , who describes himself on Facebook as a Delaware Bernie delegate, posted a live video Tuesday morning calling for like-minded delegates to make sure to register their votes that night. As of early afternoon, the video had been viewed 10,000 times.