On the second night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention (August 18, 2020), a ceremonial roll call of the states was held. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the roll call and the convention were conducted virtually rather than in a single venue. Formal voting on the party's nomination had been conducted remotely in advance of the convention, rendering the roll call at the convention purely ceremonial.
The roll call featured participation from all 57 delegations, including the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five inhabited U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands), and Democrats Abroad. Organizers planned for the segment to last approximately 30 minutes. Convention secretary Jason Rae directed the roll call from a podium at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Each delegation was announced by a notable speaker, often filmed from a location of symbolic significance. Examples included:
- Alabama – Rep. Terri Sewell, speaking from the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.
- Delaware – Gov. John Carney and Sen. Tom Carper, from the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Railroad Station in Wilmington (Delaware passed to go last, as the home state of nominee Joe Biden).
- District of Columbia – Mayor Muriel Bowser, from Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C.
- New York – Scheena Iyande Tannis, a registered nurse, with Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul in attendance.
- Rhode Island – State Rep. Joseph McNamara, from Oakland Beach in Warwick, accompanied by a chef holding a plate of fried calamari, which prompted widespread internet attention and McNamara's dubbing of Rhode Island as the "calamari comeback state."
- Texas – Rep. Veronica Escobar, from El Paso.
- Wyoming – Dennis and Judy Shepard, activists and parents of Matthew Shepard.
The production was widely praised by media outlets for its creativity, inclusivity, and ability to showcase diverse voices and locations across the country despite the constraints of the pandemic.
