Democratic delegate rules, 2024

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2024 Presidential Election Date: November 5, 2024

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Kamala Harris (D) Donald Trump (R) (won) Jill Stein (G) Chase Oliver (L)

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Kamala Harris was selected by Democratic delegates as the Democratic presidential nominee on August 2, 2024. Harris received 4,563 delegate votes, which amounted to 99% of the delegates. The national nominating convention is the formal ceremony during which the party typically selects its nominee. In 2024, the Democratic National Committee certified its presidential nominee during a virtual roll call held from August 1 and August 5. The delegates are individuals chosen to represent their state, territory, or Democrats Abroad at the convention.

In 2024, there were an estimated 4,696 delegates: 3,949 pledged delegates and 747 automatic delegates—more commonly known as superdelegates.

To win the Democratic nomination, a presidential candidate needed to receive support from a majority of the pledged delegates on the first ballot: an estimated 1,975 pledged delegates.

If the convention was contested and went to a second ballot or more, automatic delegates—commonly referred to as superdelegates—would have been able to vote and a candidate would have needed to receive majority support from all delegates—2,349 votes. Previously, superdelegates were able to vote on the first ballot. This rule changed after the 2016 presidential election, when the Unity Reform Commission proposed several ways to reduce the number and power of superdelegates. To learn more about the 2020 Democratic National Convention, click here.

This page provides an overview of the types of delegates to the convention and a summary of delegates by state. Election dates, delegate counts, and delegate allocation rules are subject to change as each state finalizes its delegation selection process.

Presidential nomination virtual roll call

See also: Democratic convention nomination, 2024

Kamala Harris received 4,563 delegate votes, while 52 delegates voted present, and 79 delegates abstained from voting.

After the presidential primaries, Joe Biden was estimated to receive 3,896 delegates, followed by 36 uncommitted delegates, Dean Phillips with four delegates, and Jason Palmer with three delegates. Biden's, Phillips', and Palmer's delegates were all unbound after each candidate withdrew from the presidential race.

In 2020, Biden won the Democratic nomination with 3,558 delegate votes, followed by Bernie Sanders with 1,151, and five abstentions. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination with 2,842 delegate votes, followed by Sanders with 1,865, and 56 unknown or abstention votes.

The following table contains the number of delegates Harris received from each state during the Democratic presidential nomination virtual roll call at held from August 1-5, 2024.

Democratic presidential nomination roll call, 2024
State	Harris
Total	4,563
Alabama	56
Alaska	19
American Samoa	10
Arizona	85
Arkansas	36
California	482
Colorado	86
Connecticut	73
Delaware	34
Democrats Abroad1	17
District of Columbia	49
Florida	243
Georgia	121
Guam	12
Hawaii	23
Idaho	27
Illinois	176
Indiana	86
Iowa	45
Kansas	39
Kentucky	56
Louisiana	47
Maine	30
Maryland	118
Massachusetts	116
Michigan	125
Minnesota	81
Mississippi	40
Missouri	68
Montana	24
Nebraska	34
Nevada	48
New Hampshire	34
New Jersey	142
New Mexico	45
New York	298
North Carolina	131
North Dakota	17
Northern Mariana Islands	11
Ohio	142
Oklahoma	41
Oregon	78
Pennsylvania	178
Puerto Rico	60
Rhode Island	34
South Carolina	65
South Dakota	20
Tennessee	72
Texas	263
Utah	34
Vermont	24
Virgin Islands	13
Virginia	119
Washington	101
West Virginia	24
Wisconsin	94
Wyoming	17

Delegate selection and allocation

Delegates are individuals chosen to represent their state at their party's national nominating convention. They are typically party activists, local political leaders, or early supporters of a particular presidential candidate. They are either selected in primaries, caucuses, or local party conventions, or included because of their positions as elected representatives or members of the party leadership.

The number of delegates awarded to each state is determined by a formula that factors the state's popular vote for the Democratic nominee in the previous three elections, the state's electoral votes, and when the state's primary is held.

Each state has its own method for selecting delegates that may occur at the county, district, and/or state level. In some states, a voter directly votes for a presidential candidate in the presidential preference primary and delegates are separately chosen at party conventions. In other states, a voter indirectly votes for a presidential candidate by supporting a delegate or delegates committed to him or her.

Delegates are allocated proportionally based on the outcome of each state's primary contest. A candidate is typically only eligible to receive a share of the pledged delegates at stake if they win at least 15 percent of votes cast in a primary or caucus. That standard is referred to as the 15 percent threshold. In addition to pledged delegates, there are alternate delegates for each state, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad. Alternates attend the convention but do not vote unless a pledged delegate is unable to attend.

Pledged vs. automatic delegates

Pledged delegates

Pledged delegates are elected during primaries, caucuses, or party conventions, and must express either a presidential candidate preference or an uncommitted preference as a condition of their election. Rule 13(J) of the Democratic National Committee defines a pledged delegate's responsibility:

“	Delegates elected to the national convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.	”
—Rule 13(J), 2020 Delegate Selection Rules

There are three distinct types of pledged delegates:

• Pledged district delegates are distributed and elected at the congressional or state legislative district level.

• Pledged at-large delegates are distributed and elected statewide.

• Pledged PLEO delegates are party leaders and elected officials. Pledged PLEO delegates are most often selected in a similar manner to at-large delegates.

Automatic delegates

Automatic delegates are unpledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Automatic delegates, who are often called superdelegates, are not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate. Automatic delegates include members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, or distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. They are free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing.

Following the 2016 presidential election, the Unity Reform Commission was formed to revise the Democratic nominating process, including reducing the number and power of automatic delegates. At the conclusion of the party's national convention on August 25, 2018, officials voted to adopt a measure banning automatic delegates from voting on the first ballot at a contested national convention.

State laws and party rules on replacing a presidential nominee

See also: State laws and party rules on replacing a presidential nominee, 2024

Replacing a presumptive nominee before the national convention

The Democratic and Republican parties do not formally nominate candidates until delegates vote at the party's national convention. The Democratic National Convention took place from August 19-22, 2024, and the Republican National Convention took place from July 15-18, 2024.

A party's presumptive nominee, meaning the candidate who receives an estimated majority of delegates after state nominating events, could be replaced at the convention. Delegates could elect a candidate who they were not initially bound to at the time of their state's election. Both state law and party rules govern how a delegate must vote at the national convention, including whether a delegate remains bound to a withdrawn candidate and for how many rounds a delegate remains bound to a candidate.

Both parties also have delegates who are not bound to a particular candidate at the convention. The Republican Party has a total of 104 unbound delegates, and the Democratic Party has a total of 739 unbound delegates. Democratic unbound delegates can only vote if a convention proceeds past the first round of voting.

Replacing a nominee between the national convention and the election

Under Article 2 of The Bylaws of the Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has the responsibility to fill vacancies in presidential and vice presidential nominations between national conventions.

In the event of a vacancy on the national ticket, the chairperson would call a special meeting. Under Article 2 § 8(d), questions before the DNC, with some exceptions otherwise outlined in the charter and bylaws, are determined by a majority vote of the DNC members who are present and voting by proxy. The bylaws also state that voting to fill a vacancy on the national ticket must proceed in accordance with procedural rules adopted by the Rules and Bylaws Committee and approved by the DNC.

It is important to note, however, that states require political parties to submit names of presidential and vice presidential nominees and presidential electors before election day in order to certify them for the general election ballot. Deadlines vary by state and depend on the election calendar, including early voting, voting by mail, and absentee voting considerations.

Overview of Democratic pledged and automatic delegates by state

The map below compares delegate counts by state. A lighter shade of blue indicates a smaller number of delegates while a darker shade indicates a larger number.