DNC postpones national convention until August
By Emily Aubert
April 3, 2020: The Democratic National Convention was postponed from July to August. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders called for Iran sanctions relief.
Ballotpedia is monitoring changes made to election dates and procedures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are the presidential primary updates you need to know:
Democratic National Convention: The Democratic Party postponed its presidential nominating convention to the week of August 17 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Organizers pushed back the event, which was originally scheduled for July 13-16, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"After a great deal of scenario planning and giving thought to how it is this event can have the greatest impact in the electoral process and the greatest impact in terms of what we can bring to Milwaukee, we felt the best decision, not knowing all the answers, was to delay this," said convention chief executive Joe Solmones. "More than anything we continue to monitor the public health landscape."
Puerto Rico: After being initially postponed from March 29 to April 26, the Democratic primary was postponed a second time to an unspecified date.
Wisconsin: Federal judge William Conley ordered the final day to submit absentee ballots be extended from April 7 to April 13. The primary remains scheduled for April 7.
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Kimberly Guilfoyle is a Republican staffer with experience as a journalist and media personality. Guilfoyle received a bachelor's degree from the University of California and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco in 1994.
2018-2019: America First Action, vice chairwoman
2006-2018: Fox News
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The Five co-host
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2000-2004: City of San Francisco, assistant district attorney
Notable Quote of the Day
"When you've got governors with stratospheric approval ratings for their handling of the crisis and ratings that are 20 and 30 points higher than the president's and you have governors from states like California and New York and Illinois leading the crisis response — all big-name, major-league governors — you're going to see that leadership reflected in polls for the presidency in future election years. This is the kind of stuff that gets forged and built into your resume."
– Doug Herman, Democratic strategist
During a virtual fundraiser on Thursday, Joe Biden said Bernie Sanders should not be pushed out of the race. He said, "Now's not the time for me or anyone to call for him to drop out. I know firsthand what a personal decision that is."
Biden called for the Trump administration to ease economic sanctions against Iran on Thursday. He said in a statement, "In times of global crisis, America should lead. We should be the first to offer help to people who are hurting or in danger. That's who we are. That's who we've always been. And, in the midst of this deadly pandemic that respects no borders, the United States should take steps to offer what relief we can to those nations hardest hit by this virus — including Iran — even as we prioritize the health of the American people."
Sanders co-signed a letter to Secretaries Mike Pompeo and Steve Mnuchin earlier this week calling for the U.S. to suspend sanctions on Iran during the coronavirus pandemic. "Rather than continue to invoke new sanctions in the Iranian people's hour of need, we urge you to substantially suspend sanctions on Iran during this global public health emergency in a humanitarian gesture to the Iranian people to better enable them to fight the virus," the letter said.
Sanders called for airline grants in the coronavirus relief bill to be approved to fund the paychecks and benefits of 2 million airline workers.
During the daily coronavirus task force daily briefing, Donald Trump and his team discussed supply chain issues for masks, ventilators, and other medical supplies. Trump also tested negative for the coronavirus for a second time.
General Election Updates
The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee are preparing for litigation to prevent major procedural changes to the general election in response to the coronavirus pandemic. "Trump advisers say they are open to certain changes, such as automatically sending absentee ballot applications to voters over age 65. But they're opposed to other moves Democrats are pushing, such as sending every voter a ballot regardless of whether they ask for one, which Republicans argue would open the door to fraud," Politico reported.
Chicago Tribune: How will Joe Biden choose a running mate? He favors the Obama model, the one that selected him.
Politico: How the coronavirus is shaping the 2024 presidential race
The Washington Post: Organizing for Sanders in New York when the city's on lockdown and you can't leave your apartment
Flashback: April 3, 2016
Approximately 2,000 Bernie Sanders supporters demonstrated outside of CNN's Los Angeles bureau to protest against media bias.
Emily Aubert
Emily Aubert is a staff writer at Ballotpedia. Contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org.