The Democratic Convention just held their open floor roll call vote and Barack Obama is now the official Democratic candidate for president of the United states of America.
The took a state-by-state vote and as was rumored earlier in the week, when they reached New York, Hillary Clinton asked for rules to be suspended and asked for Barack Obama to be ruled the official nominee by acclamation, thereby suspending the rest of state-by-state roll call vote.
Immediately after, Clinton's supporters started chanting "Hillary Hillary Hillary."
Pelosi asked for a second to the motion, she received it, then took the voice acclimation call and declared Obama the Democratic Nominee.
I watched this on television and will link to the news accounts of the roll call as soon as they are online.
It was announced this morning and verified by AFP that Hillary Clinton released her delegates this morning but did not tell them how to vote, although she did make it clear she was voting for Barack Obama.
"I am here today to release you," Clinton said, drawing cries of "No" in a meeting of her delegates in downtown Denver, a day after she ordered her millions of primary voters to unite behind the party White House hopeful.
"You want to vote according to what is in your heart. I am not going to tell you what to do. You have come from different places and made a long journey," she said, adding she had already pledged her vote to Obama early Wednesday.
[Update] Links are starting to come out as the AFP announces the result of the suspended roll call vote.
[Update #2] The LA Times Top of the Ticket makes the point that Barack Obama just made history by becoming the "first biracial American nominated for president of the United States by one of the nation's major parties."
[Update #3] Rocky Mountain News reports Hillary Clinton's exact words as she suggested suspending the rules to vote for Obama by acclamation, "On behalf of the great state of New York, with appreciation for the spirit and dedication of all who are gathered here, with eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, let’s declare together in one voice, right here right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate. I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules and suspend the further conduct of the the roll call … and I move Sen. Barack Obama be elected by this convention by acclamation as the nominee of the Democratic party."
Followed by: “All in favor of the motion to suspend the rules and nominate Barack Obama, please say ‘I.’
Then, to avoid any shout-outs from Clinton fans, it was announced “with two-thirds of delegates having voted” the nomination is accepted.
More on the meeting where Clinton released her delegates from MyDD.
[Update #4] The delegate count stood at 1549.5 for Obama to 341.5 to Clinton, when Clinton made the motion to suspend the state-by-state roll call.
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