How to Watch the 2020 Democratic National Convention

Perhaps the busiest room at the DNC will be the control room coordinating the multiple feeds.

The huge traditional cheering boistrous crowds of adoring Democratic faithful that usually attend the 2020 Democratic National Convention won't be in attendance this year.

After ongoing consultation with public health officials and experts—who underscored the worsening coronavirus pandemic—the speakers for the 2020 DNC will not travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in order to prevent risking the health of the host community as well as the convention’s production teams, security officials, community partners, media and others necessary to orchestrate the event. 

That means presumptive Presidential Nominee Joe Biden and his Vice President nominee Kamala Harris won't be in the Wisconsin Center to give their acceptance speeches. They are scheduled to speak from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, where it is presumed a small audience of Delaware residents, including family and friends of the nominees, will be in attendance.

Democrats will offer four nights of programming, which will include a mix of both pre-recorded segments and live broadcasts from locations across the country. 

There's a number of ways viewers can watch this most unconventional of Democratic National Conventions.

In order to ensure that the convention will reach viewers wherever they are, convention officials have been working with partners to house convention content on over a dozen platforms, in addition to traditional broadcasts on NBC, ABC, and CBS, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and the DNC’s social media pages like Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and YouTube.

The news channels such MSNBC, Fox and CNN will most likely have additional analysis and commentary before and after the slotted times.

The official live stream for the 2020 Democratic Convention will be hosted on DemConvention.com, where viewers can also find the full convention schedule, and a digital tool kit to get involved.

Besides the speakers and videos, viewers can expect inspiring performances from artists including Leon Bridges, The Chicks, Common, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Billy Porter, Maggie Rogers, Prince Royce, Stephen Stills and more. The musical acts will be featured across all four nights of the convention.

The time leading up to the primetime speakers will be filled with meetings of the various caucuses and councils of sspecific  interest groups.

The AAPI Caucus, which is open to the public, will be meeting on two separate days, Monday and Wednesday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. ET. Click here to RSVP.

"This will be certainly different than any other convention. You’ll see fewer podiums but you’ll see more people in living rooms," DNC chair Tom Perez told the New York Times. "You’ll see them on factory floors and schools and communities. And I think it’s going to be an opportunity to really capture the moment."

The AAPI Caucus, which is one of the DNC’s official constituency caucuses, will meet on August 17 at 1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PDT) and will be open to delegates and the public. Click here to register.

Democratic National Committee will lean on Asian American to steer the party

Seema Nanda will help guide the Democratic National Committee through a critical period

AS THE PIVOTAL midterm elections head into the home stretch with perhaps the selection of a Supreme Court Justice on the immediate horizon, the Democratic National Committee is depending on an Asian American to keep its house in order.
Today (June 29), the Democratic National Committee announces Seema Nanda as Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, Nanda will manage the day-to-day operations of the organization.

“People are hurting all across our country. And I believe that Democrats are offering the positive solutions so desperately-needed right now – solutions forged by the strength of our diversity, the rigor of our ideas, and the decency of our values," said Nanda.

The first Asian American to head the DNC in recent memory, Nanda takes the reins from interim CEO, Mary Beth Cahill, in overseeing the financial and political trajectory of the DNC at a crucial moment.

Nanda served on​ DNC Chair Tom​ Perez' transition team, which took a fresh look at the ​committee's operations following the 2016 election and put in place an infrastructure​ that contributed to wins in 2017 and 2018.

Most recently, Nanda has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, where she oversees strategy and manages day-to-day operations.

Prior to that, Seema was Chief of Staff to then-Secretary Tom Perez at the U.S. Department of Labor. While at the Labor Department, she also worked as Deputy Solicitor and as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to Perez, managing a portfolio that included immigration, workforce development, and internal management issues.

This decision was made after a five-month search led by current CEO Mary Beth Cahill, who will continue to serve the DNC through the transition and as the DNC heads into the 2018 cycle. Nanda will start later next month. 

“I’m beyond excited that Seema is bringing her talent and brilliance to the DNC,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez. “I’ve seen firsthand Seema’s exceptional ability to lead. She is a seasoned manager who has a proven track record of success and a well-documented history of fighting for our Democratic values, whether it’s on immigration, civil rights or leveling the playing field for our workers. As we head toward such a crucial election, I’m one hundred percent certain that Seema’s leadership will help the DNC capitalize on the unprecedented grassroots energy and enthusiasm surging throughout the country.”

As Asian Americans seek to find their seat at the political table, that community's vote will be crucial for a number of races throughout the country. Along with DNC vice chair Grace Meng, the congresswoman representing parts of New York, Asian American women will hold two of the top and visible positions for the Democratic Party.

Nanda is a founding member of the DC chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, where she works closely with several immigrants rights and Asian American advocacy groups around Asian Pacific American issues; and a founding board member of a nonprofit in DC (Odanadi) that seeks to raise awareness and money to fight sex trafficking in India and globally.  

With immigration issues becoming a key issue in the midterm elections, the DNC is also emphasizing Nanda's past experience as head of the DOJ's Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.

The Democrats are trying to generate a "blue wave" to wrest the majority in the House from the GOP by anchoring Republicans to a controversial and unpopular president, who has consistently voiced anti-immigrant policies from the Muslim travel ban to his handling of immigrants at the country's border with Mexico.

Democrats are also facing an internal reckoning on how to craft the best message for November and channel the emergence of a more progressive wing illustrated by the victory of political newcomer, 28-year old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over seasoned and moderate Democrat incumbent Joe Crowley.

As the Center for American Women and Politics has noted, "Democratic women are the real drivers of the surge in female candidates in 2018: women are 33% of all Democratic candidates but only 14% of all Republican candidates."

“Women are not only making their voices heard, but this hire also signals that women are leading the Democratic Party, and I couldn't be prouder of that," said the DNC's communications director, Xochitl Hinojosa.

Nanda's experience also includes practicing labor and employment law and served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations.

She is a graduate of Boston College Law School and Brown University and a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

"This position is the opportunity of a lifetime, for which I am incredibly honored and humbled,” said Nanda, "I am grateful to Chairman Perez and Mary Beth for selecting me, and I look forward to joining my new DNC colleagues in the fight for our nation’s values and future.”
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DNC targets AAPI voters in new campaign

GEARING UP for the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats kicked off a campaign to mobilize their voters, particularly Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. 


The Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday (Feb. 28) the launch of IWillVote - an unprecedented new campaign with four initiatives: Commit to Vote; Voter Registration; Voter Education and Protection; and Get-Out-The-Vote. Under the IWillVote program. The DNC aims to reach 50 million voters from now until November to engage, educate, and mobilize them to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket. 

The Asian/American and Pacific Islander community will be a crucial target in reaching these voters. The AAPI community is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country and has been crucial to Democratic victories in numerous key elections over the years.

“In recent years, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander voters have been crucial to Democratic victories in swing states and districts across the country,” said AAPI Caucus Chair Bel Leong-Hong. 

“The IWillVote program is an innovative way to galvanize the extraordinary passion among AAPIs across the country. I know that this program will funnel this passion into results at the ballot box and I’m excited to be working with great leaders like DNC Chair Tom Perez and DNC Vice Chair Grace Meng to make it successful.”

“The American people have witnessed the relentless commitment of the Republican Party to discourage voting – from the creation of a sham fraud commission to systemic disenfranchisement of communities of color," said Perez.

In recent years, the U.S.Supreme Court dominated by Republican appointees rolled back elements of the landmark Voting Rights Act and in states where the GOP hold the majority, voter ID laws were enaacted, limited voting times and reduced the number of polling places. Through the Internet, parties apparently acting on behalf of GOP candidates, have sent out misinformation about voting eligibility and poll locations.

"The DNC has opposed those efforts at every step, and we are prepared to hit them where it hurts – the voting booth,” said Perez. 

Democrats have also not shown up in the voting booth in recent nonpresidential elections. In the most recent midterm elections, in 2014, 47 million fewer people voted than in 2012, when President Barack Obama was re-elected. That poor turnout allowed Republicans to win enough Congressional seats to retain control of the House and Senate.

AAPI voters lean heavily towards the Democrats in recent elections and the 2016 elections saw the AAPI vote overwhelmingly Democratic. 

Four out of five (79%) of Asian Americans polled voted for Hillary Clinton, 18% voted for Donald Trump, and 2% voted for another candidate. Of those surveyed, 59% were enrolled in the Democratic Party and 11% were enrolled in the Republican Party. More than a quarter of those polled (27%) were not enrolled in any political party, while 3% were enrolled in another party, according to a 2017 report by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

“Our first Commit to Vote program translates activism and marches into committing to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot this November and is designed to reach voters and communities across the country with new innovative tools and technologies, key partnerships, and online and on-the-ground organizing strategies. In partnership with our state parties and partners, the DNC will reach 50 million voters this year.”

In 2017, Democrat efforts to rally voters have made a difference in special elections. In Virginia, the mobilization drive saw a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general elected and flipped 15 seats in the House of Delegates from red to blue. In Alabama, the state’s first Democratic senator in decades was elected. And since Trump's election, Democrats have flipped 39 state legislative seats, including some in districts that Trump won by double digits. 

The partners in the get-out-the-vote effort emphasizes younger voters and those independent groups that lean towards progressive issues and candidates. The following are some of the initial partners who will support the IWillVote efforts: ASPIRE PAC, Blue Future, BOLD PAC, CBC PAC, Collective PAC, College Democrats of America, Flippable, Future Forum, High School Democrats of America, Latino Victory Fund, Mobilize America, National Conference of Democratic Mayors and Democratic mayors from more than 30 cities, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, PODER PAC, Swing Left, Young Democrats of America.

“ASPIRE PAC is pleased to partner with the DNC’s IWillVote program in engaging AAPI voters and encouraging active participation in the Democratic Party,” said ASPIRE PAC Chair Meng, who represents New York City in Congress. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing populations in the country, and this program will help ensure that AAPI voices are heard at the polls in the midterm elections.”
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