Celebrities appear at DNC call in Chicago
Lil Jon, Wendell Pierce and Spike Lee were among those present at the DNC roll call.
The claim: Post implies that Harris did not receive any delegate votes from California
A Facebook post from August 20 (direct link, archive link) contains an excerpt from the Democratic National Convention’s vote roll call in which a California congressman declares that the state’s delegation is “refraining” from casting its vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“BREAKING NEWS: California refuses to give its delegates to Kamala Harris – instead they gave them up,” reads the post’s caption.
Users interpreted the post to mean that Harris never received delegate votes in her home state.
“Finally a reason to be proud of California,” says one of the comments on the post. Another user says he is “shocked” by the post.
The post was shared more than 200 times in two days, with additional versions of the claim spreading on Threads and X, formerly Twitter.
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Our assessment: Lack of context
The implied claim is false. Following tradition, California was omitted from the first roll call because it is the presidential candidate’s home state, but was later called again at the end of the event. The state then awarded its 482 delegate votes to Harris.
Biden’s home state also originally passed during the 2020 DNC
The vote on August 20 was symbolic, as Harris had already been officially declared the Democratic candidate through a virtual vote a few weeks before the party convention in Chicago.
Delegates are people chosen during primaries and caucuses to represent the party at the conventions. Typically, candidates win their delegate votes based on the party’s primaries, but this year delegates shifted their votes from President Joe Biden, who had won delegates in the primaries, to Harris after Biden dropped out of the race.
As USA TODAY reported, both California and Minnesota were next in line for the alphabetical roll call.
That’s because they later ended the event as the home states of the Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates. California Governor Gavin Newsom appeared at the end of the roll calls to deliver the state’s 482 delegate votes to Harris.
A similar process took place in 2020, when Biden’s home state of Delaware initially voted in favor of the vote but later dropped its 32 votes so he could complete the vote, the Delaware News Journal reported.
Fact check: Pictures and videos show that thousands attended the Harris rally in Michigan
USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Reuters also refuted this claim.
Our fact-checking sources:
- KTLA-TV (YouTube), August 20, Newsom speaks to California delegates at the DNC to endorse Kamala Harris as presidential candidate
- The Los Angeles Times, August 20, Newsom ends ceremonial roll calls at DNC and launches campaign for Harris
- USA TODAY, August 20: What to know about the ‘cheer’ roll call at the Democratic National Convention
- PBS NewsHour (YouTube), August 18, 2020, WATCH: Full Democratic election calls from delegates across America | 2020 DNC, Night 2
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