What is a super delegate?
Winning the Democratic nomination is a matter of collecting more delegates. These delegates ultimately fly out to the convention in Denver and vote for their candidate. Majority wins.
There are two types of delegates though, and this distinction is very important. The first is the "pledged" delegate (there are about 3,253 of these). A candidate is awarded these in proportion to the amount of votes that they get from ordinary Americans in primaries and caucuses across the country. These 3,253 "pledged" delegates reflect the will of the people, the will of the millions of Democratic voters.
The other type is the "super delegate" (there are about 796 of these). These are usually Democratic members of Congress, governors, national committee members or party officials. As CNN point out:
The issue, as MSNBC explains:
"It’s called the Democratic Party, but one aspect of the party’s nominating process is at odds with grass-roots democracy. Voters don’t choose the 842 unpledged “super-delegates” who comprise nearly 40 percent of the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination."
In other words, in a race that's even remotely close, these 796 party insiders can overturn the will of tens of millions of voters. Imagine that, after a solid year of millions of Americans canvasing, donating, caucusing, rallying and deciding for themselves, that the choice of the people could be reversed by a few hundred politicians.
If we...
There are two types of delegates though, and this distinction is very important. The first is the "pledged" delegate (there are about 3,253 of these). A candidate is awarded these in proportion to the amount of votes that they get from ordinary Americans in primaries and caucuses across the country. These 3,253 "pledged" delegates reflect the will of the people, the will of the millions of Democratic voters.
The other type is the "super delegate" (there are about 796 of these). These are usually Democratic members of Congress, governors, national committee members or party officials. As CNN point out:
The issue, as MSNBC explains:
"It’s called the Democratic Party, but one aspect of the party’s nominating process is at odds with grass-roots democracy. Voters don’t choose the 842 unpledged “super-delegates” who comprise nearly 40 percent of the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination."
In other words, in a race that's even remotely close, these 796 party insiders can overturn the will of tens of millions of voters. Imagine that, after a solid year of millions of Americans canvasing, donating, caucusing, rallying and deciding for themselves, that the choice of the people could be reversed by a few hundred politicians.
If we...
posted by Robert at 22.3.08
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