CHICAGO - US Vice-President Kamala Harris, who has already won enough delegates to become the Democratic presidential nominee in a virtual roll call vote earlier this month, was once again confirmed as the party's nominee Tuesday night during the Democratic National Convention.

California, Harris' home state, cast 482 votes for Harris, sending her over the top while concluding a ceremonial roll call.

"The future happens in California first, and Democrats, I've had the privilege of over 20 years to see that future taking shape with a star in Alameda (County) courtroom by the name of Kamala Harris," California Governor Gavin Newsom said.

READ MORE: Democrats Harris, Walz campaign together for first time as White House ticket

On Aug 6, the Democratic National Committee announced that Harris had been officially certified as the party's presidential nominee following a five-day online balloting process.

Tuesday marks the second day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, held at the United Center in Chicago from Aug 19-22.

Several prominent Democrats, including former US President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, spoke at Tuesday's event.

While the convention continues with an enthusiastic crowd of Democrats inside the venue, pro-Palestinian protests have been organized on the streets of Chicago in response to the Biden administration's policies on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Several protesters were arrested Tuesday night in front of the Israeli Consulate in downtown Chicago, while a day earlier, thousands of demonstrators gathered near the United Center, with at least four arrested after breaching a security fence.

President Joe Biden closed the first day of the convention by delivering a nearly hourlong keynote speech, in which he lashed out at former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and urged voters to support Harris in her bid for the White House.

Obama headlines Democratic convention

Meanwhile, Obama and his wife Michelle delivered a one-two punch at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, urging Americans to back Harris  in her 11th-hour presidential bid against Trump.

America's first Black president, Obama has thrown his considerable political capital behind Harris as she seeks to make history herself on Nov 5 as the first woman and first Black and South Asian person to be elected US president.

"We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse," Obama told delegates on Day Two of the Chicago convention.

"America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris."

ALSO READ: US Democratic National Convention kicks off amid pro-Palestinian protests 

He took aim at Trump, the Republican who followed him into the White House in 2017 and praised Biden, his vice-president who was forced out of the 2024 race by Democratic allies who feared he would lose to Trump in November.

"History will remember Joe Biden as a president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger. I am proud to call him my president, but even prouder to call him my friend," Obama said, eliciting chants of "We love Joe."

Obama was introduced by his wife, Michelle, who tops Democrats' wish list as a future president.

"America, hope is making a comeback," Michelle Obama said, in a nod to Obama's first presidential campaign in 2008.

Pulling no punches, she cautioned that Trump would try to distort Harris' truth, much as he did "everything in his power to try to make people fear us."

"His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black," she said to deafening applause.

READ MORE: Trump and Harris to debate on ABC; Trump says he wants two more

"Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those 'Black jobs'?" she asked. On the campaign trail, Trump has referred to migrants crossing into the US as taking away "Black jobs."

Trump launched his political career through racist attacks on Obama's citizenship status and has reprised similar attacks on Harris.

At 63, Barack Obama loomed large in the messy deliberations that led Biden to step out of the race last month and endorse Harris, his vice-president.

Harris momentum

Harris, 59, has ridden a historic whirlwind in which her campaign has broken records for fundraising and packed arenas with supporters.

Harris joined virtually from a campaign rally in Milwaukee. Delegates in Chicago raised signs saying “FREEDOM” that mirrored those raised by supporters at her Wisconsin rally.

ALSO READ: Trump says Harris easier than Biden to beat as race for Pennsylvania heats up

Harris and her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, took to the Milwaukee stage in the same venue as last month's Republican National Convention, where Trump formally received his party's nod.

In her speech, Harris criticized Trump for saying he had no regrets about the US Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had recognized women's constitutional right to abortion. Three Trump-appointed justices joined a 6-3 majority on the high court.

"I do believe, you know, bad behavior should result in a consequence. Well we will make sure he does face a consequence and that will be at the ballot box in November," Harris said.

READ MORE: Walz joins up with Harris on campaign trail

Democrats see abortion rights as a winning issue in this campaign and Harris had led the charge as vice-president.

Crossing the aisle

Republicans who have left the fold since Trump's takeover of their party crossed the aisle on Tuesday night to address the convention, including Trump's former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and former Trump voter Kyle Sweetser.

Grisham described her journey from a Trump "true believer" to the first senior White House staffer to resign after the Jan 6, 2021, assault by Trump supporters on the US Capitol.

Republican Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, remembered the late John McCain, the Republican US senator from his state who made a point of reaching across the aisle.

ALSO READ: US Supreme Court declines to halt Trump's sentencing in hush money case

"I have an urgent message for the majority of Americans who, like me, are in the political middle," he said. "John McCain's Republican Party is gone, and we don't owe a damn thing to what's been left behind."

Conservative voters who dislike Trump have been one of the Democrats' hoped-for prizes. The challenge will be persuading them to get to the ballot box and vote for Harris versus staying home or writing in a presidential candidate.