17 delegate votes (13 pledged, 4 unpledged) to the Democratic National Convention The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
Joe Biden Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren Biden/Sanders Tie Sanders/Warren Tie
The 2020 Democrats Abroad Presidential Primary took place from March 3 to 10, 2020, allowing U.S. citizens residing outside the United States and those officially affiliated with Democrats Abroad to participate in the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination process.[1] Spanning more than 230 voting locations worldwide, participants cast their in-person votes across various countries and continents. Alternative voting methods included e-mail and postal mail. The voting period started on Super Tuesday and concluded the Tuesday of the following week.[2] The 2020 Democrats Abroad Global Primary allocated a total of 21 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Among these, 13 were pledged delegates, committed to supporting a specific candidate based on primary results, each holding a full vote. Additionally, 8 automatic delegates, unbound to any candidate and each possessing a half vote, contributed to a cumulative total of 17 votes.
The official results were announced on 23 March 2020. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders emerged as the victor, with a strong showing with approximately 58% of the vote, resulting in the allocation of 9 delegates. Former Vice President Joe Biden garnered nearly 23% of the vote, translating in the allocation of 4 delegates. Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, despite formally withdrawing from the presidential race two days after Super Tuesday, earned around 14% of the vote, falling short of the mandated 15% threshold for delegate allocation.[3]
Procedure
The Democrats Abroad party-run global primary ran from March 3 (Super Tuesday) to March 10, 2020, at hundreds of voting centers around the world.[4] Votes were also cast by fax, email, or post.
Eligibility: Voters had to meet the following criteria to vote[5]
Be abroad and be a U.S. citizen
Be a member of Democrats Abroad
Be 18 as of November 3, 2020
Not have voted, nor plan to vote, in any other 2020 state presidential primary
Voters abroad also voted by downloading a ballot and emailing or postal mailing it to Democrats Abroad from February 18, 2020. Ballots must have been received prior to 12:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on March 11, 2020. No proxy voting was permitted. It was not possible for voters to change their vote if their supported candidate had officially withdrawn from the ballot during the voting period.
Candidates had to meet a threshold of 15 percent in order to be allocated pledged delegates to the National Convention. The 13 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the party-run primary, also classified as a caucus, including 9 at-large regional delegates (divided between three world regions), one global PLEO delegate (party leader and elected official) and three at-large global delegates.[6] As part of Stage I on the primary timetable there were no bonus delegates for a March contest on a joint date in that year.[7]
Regional conventions were held online (originally planned as regional caucuses during the global convention in Toronto, Canada) for the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe-Middle East-Africa regions on May 16, 2020, and May 17, 2020, selecting 9 national convention delegates, with the number each region was eligible to designate dependent on the proportion of ballots within each region, 6 for Europe-Middle East-Africa, 2 for the Americas, and 1 for Asia-Pacific. Between May 16 and May 17, 2020, the global convention also met online to elect a sole pledged PLEO delegate and 3 at-large delegates for the Democratic National Convention.[8] The delegation also included 8 unpledged delegates: 8 members of the Democratic National Committee, who each had a half vote (meaning 4 unpledged delegate votes).[6]
Cory Booker and Michael Bennet originally also qualified,[11] but officially withdrew from the ballot before the primary.[12][10] Bloomberg and Warren suspended their respective presidential campaigns on March 4 and March 5, while the primary was going on, with Bloomberg also officially withdrawing from the ballot on March 7, not being eligible for the rest of the voting period.[13]
Results
Results of the primary were announced on Monday, March 23, 2020.[1]