Why the DNC delegates are the most important they've been in decades

What happens at a convention?

In decades past, parties used the convention to select their candidate, but that's become more symbolic over time as presumptive nominees have locked up enough delegates in advance to secure the nomination.

• A candidate must win a majority of delegates to become the nominee, which typically happens through the party's state primaries and caucuses.
• The state delegates participate in a roll call during the national convention to confirm their choice.
• The Democratic Party, has more than 3,800 pledged delegates this year who are bound by party rules to initially vote for the candidate they're assigned.
• On the first ballot, the candidate must win a simple majority of the pledged delegates to secure the nomination.
• Biden already has more than 3,800 pledged delegates this year, according to Ballotpedia.

Worth noting: If no presidential candidate gets the majority of delegates during the primaries and caucuses, convention delegates choose the nominee through additional rounds of voting.

• While only the pledged delegates vote on the first ballot, the Democratic Party has more than 700 "superdelegates" who can vote for any candidate of their choosing on additional ballots.

• The winning nominee then has to secure a simple majority of both the pledged and superdelegates.

Who are the delegates?

• Delegates are chosen to represent their state during each party's convention.
• They're selected either during primary or caucus races, or are chosen because they're an elected representative, a member of party leadership or a supporter of a given candidate.

When are the conventions?

• The Republican National Convention was held July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wis.
• The Democratic National Convention will be in Chicago, Ill., from Aug. 19-22.

Go deeper:

• Ohio may prevent in-person DNC chaos