Anti-superdelegates activists will be presenting an amendment to abolish the superdelegate system at the full Democrat convention, after having gained enough support and votes at the Democratic National Committee Rules Committee this Saturday.
58 votes were in favor of abolishing the superdelegates, while 108 voted in opposition over the weekend. This hit the 25% threshold needed for the measure to be voted upon at the convention.
The committee also voted to establish a “unity commission,” which would limit the role of the convention superdelegates. Two-thirds of them would be strictly designated to state primary contests.
The rule reads: “The Commission shall make specific recommendations providing that Members of Congress, Governors, and distinguished party leaders remain unpledged and free to support their nominee of choice…but that remaining unpledged delegates be required to cast their vote at the Convention for candidates in proportion to the vote received for each candidate in their state.”
Supporters believe that the democratic party needs to be democratize. “Today we scored a generational victory for democracy, taking a giant step toward democratizing the Democratic Party. We did it against all odds because hundreds of thousands of people across the country banded together to demand change,” said Diane Russell, a Maine State Representative and National Delegate.
Aaron Regunberg, Rhode Island State Representative and Rules Committee member also agrees with Russell. “Now, we are taking the fight to end superdelegates to the floor of the Democratic National Convention. This is a huge opportunity to make the Democratic Party more Democratic.”
The issue with superdelegates stems from the fact that they don’t pledge support to the candidate that won their state primary. They are free to choose which ever presidential primary candidate to support.
Prior to the vote this weekend, over 750,000 signatures were collected to abolish superedelegates.
Sander supporters, still bitter from his loss, argue this system unfairly favors party establishment candidates. Clinton coerced a whopping 602 superdelegates to vote for her and if it wasn’t for this system, Sanders would have beat out Clinton.
Evidently without the superdelegate system, the 2016 election would have had a much different outcome. And if this amendment does get approved at the convention this week, the 2020 election cycle will be a whole new ballgame.