As the Democratic National Convention comes to a close Thursday with Joe Biden accepting the nomination as the Democratic candidate for president, delegates from Iowa have spent the week participating in a convention that’s unlike any before.

Pushed to a virtual format because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Democratic convention has been a blend of pre-recorded and live speeches broadcasted across the country online and on TV. This style comes with its own set of benefits and pitfalls, Iowa delegates said.

Sandy Dockendorff, a Democrat running for Iowa’s 88th House District and a national delegate at the convention, said there is more content available to delegates than there would have been in an in-person convention.

“It’s so wide-ranging, you couldn’t possibly do all of it,” she said. “And maybe that’s a plus and maybe that’s a negative, but the sheer volume of information is probably more than what’s available if we were all in Wisconsin.”

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Along with the main televised events, the convention has also included broadcasts of committee and caucus meetings all day available both to delegates and the public.

Dockendorff also has a disability, she said, which would make moving between events all day in a physical convention hall difficult. Still, she said there’s a loss of community and interpersonal contact that comes with an in-person event.

“Some of the feeling of the energy that comes from being in a room with a couple thousand people, you miss that, and there’s no way to recreate that online,” she said.

Andrew Coghill-Behrends was excited to attend his first national convention as an Iowa delegate in his home state of Wisconsin. However, as the county- and state-level conventions moved to an absentee format, it became increasingly clear this year’s national convention would be the same.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little bit disappointed,” he said. “This is my first convention, and I was really hoping to be there in person. I’m also (a) native Wisconsinite, so Milwaukee is kind of my stomping grounds.”

Still, Coghill-Behrends said the ease of access to delegate events is a welcome aspect of the virtual format.

“One of the benefits is probably that people are able to participate in a lot more activities, mostly because you don’t have the time to travel between events, and it’s all right here in a spare bedroom that I have set up as an office,” he said.

A highlight of the week for many delegates was the virtual roll call on Tuesday, which featured clips of representatives from each state and territory announcing the vote totals for the presidential nomination. Iowa’s votes were announced by former Gov. Tom Vilsack and his wife Christie, speaking from a cornfield.

“You really get a feel from the locations where people are, it really shows what a diverse country we are,” said Ed Cranston, a national delegate and the chair of the Johnson County Democrats.

Iowa delegates have also had the opportunity to hear from national speakers during nightly delegation meetings, including Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, both former Democratic hopefuls that invested heavily in Iowa ahead of the caucuses in February, as well as Reps. Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne D-Iowa, and Democratic Senate candidate Theresa Greenfield.

“We have opportunities, we probably wouldn’t have that sort of direct contact with folks when you’re there with thousands of people,” Cranston said. “Cory was just inspirational. He’s very motivational, and he really knows Iowa.”

Speakers at the delegation meetings have stressed the importance of encouraging others to vote and getting down-ballot Democrats in Iowa elected.

“It’s not enough for you to just have your plan to vote,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Mark Smith told the Iowa delegation Thursday. “We all need to make sure that our community, our friends, and our family have their plans to vote as well … I hope that you feel the urgency from the speakers last night, and I hope that you turn that urgency into action.”