Do Arizona Democratic delegates have to vote for Biden? Your delegate questions answered

President Joe Biden’s historic decision to end his presidential campaign leaves thousands of delegates to the Democratic National Convention up for grabs. That includes 85 delegates from Arizona who were chosen after Biden won the state’s presidential preference election in March.

Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to carry on the campaign, but delegates are not compelled to support her.

There are plenty of other could-be Democratic candidates waiting in the wings, from California Gov. Gavin Newsom to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Here’s what to know as the Democratic Party begins an unprecedented scramble to replace its nominee 29 days before the DNC begins.

How were Arizona’s delegates chosen?

Arizona will send 85 delegates and 6 alternates to the convention in August. The delegates include elected officials such as Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, as well as Democratic activists elected in caucuses to serve as delegates based on their congressional district.

The delegates were distributed using a proportional representation system based on the results of the state’s presidential preference election in the spring, according to a guide from the state party. Biden won the Democratic preference election in Arizona with 89% of support. The president’s competitors had already dropped out of the race by the time Arizonans voted.

Do Arizona Democratic delegates have to vote for Biden?

Delegates do not need to be released and can vote for whoever they want, according to Democratic National Committee member Elaine Kamarck.

“There is no such thing as Joe Biden releasing his delegates,” Kamarck said during a webinar hosted by Delegates Are Democracy, a new group which aims to educate delegates about convention rules.

Kamarck is the founding director at the Brookings Institution Center for Effective Public Management and wrote a book about presidential nominations. The nomination process is still open heading into August, she said.

DNC rules direct delegates who are pledged to a candidate to “in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them,” according to DNC rules. Kamarck said that phrase is an important “loophole” that was added after a bitter fight at the 1980 Democratic convention, when Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., challenged incumbent President Jimmy Carter.

The party has never experienced a situation where “the primaries were over, very clear cut winner, and yet something was discovered,” Kamarck said, “after the end of the primaries that caused people to severely doubt whether or not their nominee should precede.”

“We’ve never faced this,” Kamarack said.

How does the presidential nomination process work?

Delegates formally cast their votes for the presidential nominee in a roll-call process on the convention floor. This year, the DNC had planned to hold a virtual nomination weeks before the convention begins on Aug. 19 to meet an earlier ballot deadline in Ohio. It’s not clear when the roll-call might happen now that Biden has decided not to accept his party’s nomination.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison called the moment “unprecedented” Sunday in a statement and said his party is working to present a “transparent” plan to select a new nominee.

“In the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Harrison said. "This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people."

Who are the Arizona delegates supporting so far?

Some Arizona delegates to the DNC have already said they’ll support Harris at the convention. Paul Weich, a convention delegate for Arizona and an attorney, said on Sunday that he plans to vote for the vice president. Harris delivered "powerful" remarks on abortion when she came to the state last month, Weich said.

"As we move forward as a party and as a country, we must come together and rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris as our next president of the United States,” Markus Ceniceros, another Arizona delegate, told The Republic in a text message. “I look forward to voting for Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and defeating Donald Trump.”

The Arizona Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Do Arizona Democratic delegates have to vote for Joe Biden?