Political Parties Consider the Possibility of Online Conventions

Sporting events and other large public gatherings¹ have been cancelled in the United States because of the COVID-19 spread. Could the country's political party nominating meetings be next? The Republican and Democratic parties were to hold their conventions in August to choose their candidates for president. Some people are wondering if the events should be virtual instead.

A virtual convention would connect thousands of delegates from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Those attending could vote on everything from political party rules to presidential nominees³ – all using social media tools.

Currently, the Democrats⁴ are to gather over three days in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, beginning August 17. The Republicans plan to gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, a week later.

Expected Democratic presidential nominee² Joe Biden has suggested that his party may decide to hold a virtual convention if the pandemic continues. President Donald Trump⁵ has forcefully said that his party would physically⁶ gather to nominate him for a second term.

Politicians and political experts are intensely speculating on what a virtual convention might look like.

"There's two aspects to this. There's the legal and the political," says Elaine Kamarck. She is a member of the Democratic National Committee and Director of the Center for Effective Public Management. She said the public vote for the nominee "is the way that a presidential candidate gets on the ballots⁷ in all the states. So legally, you have to have a convention."

Conventions bring together party members and "...unify⁸ the party around the nominee, [and] get them excited about the fall campaign," said Lara Brown. She is director of the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University in Washington D.C.

Brown believes a virtual convention needs to involve at least three different platforms. "There needs to be one secure platform for the delegates to be able to cast their votes," she said. Another kind of platform is needed to get people involved. "Then...there needs to be a third platform that is about the production, the production of the show," she said.

Convention centers filled with thousands of party members have historically provided television networks with exciting pictures and interesting stories. How would a virtual convention appear to Americans watching TV? It would have to be done by creating the illusion of a busy convention with balloons, messages and events through the magic of television.

"I'm not sure that producing a TV show without 20,000 people in an arena⁹ is going to be any worse than what we traditionally have," Kamarck said.

And if the spread of the coronavirus eases enough to permit small gatherings, she sees delegates holding house parties that she called "a nationwide meetup."

Chairpersons of the Republican and Democratic parties recently said plans for normal conventions are going ahead.

But if conditions change, Brown is interested to see which party produces a better virtual experience. "...This would be a whole new world. And what that means in terms of the creativity and the ingenuity¹⁰ is really an unknown." She said a virtual convention might help one party more than the other.

Kamarck notes the final decision on how to hold the convention is not completely in the parties' control. She said, if current conditions continue, people in both cities might not want to work at the conventions. "There will be people in both cities who do not look forward to having 20 to 30 thousand people from all over the country," Kamarck observed.

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

Words in This Story

virtual –adj. existing on computers or the internet rather than in real life

speculating –v. to form ideas about something with little information about it

aspect(s) –n. part of something

platform(s) –n. a technological¹¹ way of spreading information such as a social media platform or a video conferencing application

illusion –n. something that looks or seems different from what it is

arena –n. a large building for sports or meetings

ingenuity –n. skill or ability that permits people to solve problems

1 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

9 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

10 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

11 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。