Democratic Party urges members of Congress not to attend national convention

Democratic Party officials are taking another major step toward downsizing their national convention amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Party officials sent a letter this week to Democratic members of Congress, urging them to not attend in person next month’s quadrennial Democratic National Convention, which starts Aug. 17 in Milwaukee, Wis.

QUESTIONS STILL HANG OVER DEMOCRATS’ SHIFT TO NEAR VIRTUAL CONVENTION

The move – the latest by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and party convention officials to downsize the in-person portion of their confab – comes as pubic health officials continue to advise against any large gatherings in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Democratic Party officials told delegates last month not to attend the convention in person. And last week officials spelled out how the delegates would be able to vote for the nomination and the party platform remotely.

“We have been working closely with state and local public health officials, as well [as] epidemiologists, and have come to the hard decision that members of Congress should not plan to travel to Milwaukee,” convention committee senior adviser Chasseny Lewis wrote in an email to congressional aides. “No delegates will travel to Milwaukee and Caucus and Council meetings will take place virtually.”

Asked about the letter, senior director of communications for the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) Katie Peters told Fox News that “ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone involved with the 2020 Democratic National Convention drives every decision we make, and this communication reiterates our guidance from several weeks ago that all members of state delegations—including elected leaders—should plan to conduct their official business remotely. Last week, we sent delegates guidance on how they will vote and we look forward to sharing more details on other opportunities for delegates in the coming weeks.”

The Democratic convention was originally scheduled to be held this week in Milwaukee in the Fiserv Forum, the city’s major indoor arena. But as the coronavirus swept the nation this spring, the DNC moved back the date of the convention a month. And last month, officials announced that they were downscaling from the arena to a much smaller convention center nearby.

Even though most of the convention will be held nearly entirely online, former Vice President Joe Biden is still planning on accepting his party’s presidential nomination in person on the final night of the confab.

REPUBLICANS SCALE BACK CONVENTION PLANS FOR JACKSONVILLE

GOP officials announced on Thursday that they’re dialing back on the size of next month’s Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, amid a new surge in coronavirus cases in Florida and many other states across the country.

A letter from Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel sent to convention delegates, which was obtained by Fox News, gives details on the downscaling of the quadrennial gathering – which now will include a mix of outdoor and indoor venues.

McDaniel acknowledged, “We had hoped to be able to plan a traditional convention celebration to which we are all accustomed. However, adjustments must be made to comply with state and local health guidelines.”

The chairwoman announced that admittance for the first three days of the convention, which kicks off Aug. 24, “will be limited to only regular delegates” – which is roughly 2,500 people. McDaniel explained that for the final day – when President Trump is expected to formally accept the Republican nomination in person – “we plan that each delegate, their guest, and alternate delegates will be permitted to attend.”

That could allow for roughly 6,000-7,000 people in attendance.

The developments were the latest involving a convention that’s seen plenty of drama over the past couple of months due to health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.

JACKSONVILLE MANDATES WEARING OF MASKS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

The RNC last month chose Jacksonville to host major portions of the convention, after largely abandoning the city of Charlotte, N.C., over disagreements on coronavirus-related crowd restrictions.

The president and Republican officials were angered after Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, a Democrat, said that because of the pandemic he wasn’t prepared to guarantee the RNC a full-fledged convention with an arena packed full of party officials, delegates and activists as desired by Trump. Some business aspects of the convention, however, will still be held in Charlotte.