MILWAUKEE — At a virtual breakfast hosted by Democrats on Tuesday, party leaders touted Monday night's virtual DNC kick-off as a success while teasing night two's virtual roll-call vote to officially nominate Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential ticket.
"Last night was so exhilarating," said Felesia Martin, Vice-Chair of the Democrats while welcoming guests to the meeting.
DNC Chair Tom Perez joined the virtual meeting and called the virtual Roll-Call Across America, scheduled for Tuesday night, something to "keep an eye on."
"We go to a lot of iconic sites and I think it will really capture your attention," said Perez.
Typically a vibrant moment held on the convention floor, the roll-call vote is the moment when Joe Biden will be officially voted the democratic nominee for president. This year, it will be led from Milwaukee's Wisconsin Center and will be called by DNC Secretary and Milwaukee native, Jason Rae. It's a moment set to shake tradition.
"It's going to be a re-imagined roll-call that is really going to take convention viewers to all 57 states and territories. It isn't going to be like the roll calls we've seen in the past but, it's going to be something really special and really different," said Rae.
Wisconsin's Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes will help showcase the state by sharing a piece of his personal story while leading the Wisconsin delegation.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett joined the call saying he and the Mayors of some of Wisconsin's largest cities have been working together to ensure a safe and fair election in November. He also said President Trump is attacking vote-by-mail efforts and the United States Postal Service.
"As hard as the President is working to make it less appealing for people to use absentee balloting, we are doing everything we can to make it convenient for people. Because of the health reasons, because of COVID-19, because it's the right thing to do," said Barrett.
Barrett also said leaders in Milwaukee are committed to voter accessibility and safety amid the pandemic. Milwaukee is set to raise the pay for poll workers, add absentee-ballot drop off sites throughout the city, and is pushing to find more, non-partisan resource that could help ensure voters are able to fill out absentee-ballots correctly.
The breakfast also featured speeches from Senior U.S. Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Senator to Alabama Doug Jones, Attorney General for Wisconsin Josh Kaul, Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Nellie Sires of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and Adam Scott, an actor often recognized for his role in NBC's Parks and Recreation.
