2008 Woodie Awards
Democratic superdelegates
A fair system?
by Andy House
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Opinion
With the Democratic race for the Presidential nominee so close, people have been looking at the possible scenarios that might play out over the summer in this election. One of these scenarios includes superdelegates. This term is derived from the delegates who are apportioned to candidates based on the primary and caucus election results in each state. These delegates then pledge their vote at the party convention to officially nominate a candidate.
With the race being so close, it's possible that neither candidate will have enough regular delegates to gain the nomination. This is when the superdelegates will come into play. The superdelegates were established by the Democratic Party for this specific reason. They consist of 796 members of the House, Senate, governors, and distinguished Democratic National Committee leaders.
What is important, however, is that these people have no restriction on their vote based on how their state or district voted. This can cause jockeying for votes if a potential superdelegate count must be made. What is wrong with this system is that many of these people have close personal ties with the candidates, and some have even given endorsements to one of the candidates. So what is the responsibility of the superdelegate? To do the will of the people who are from his or her home state, or to vote for the candidate they personally support?
With the fact that these votes would only be counted if the election were extremely close, and with tensions naturally riding high if that were the case, this system leaves gaping holes for human error. Doesn't it make more sense to tally the total delegates? If one candidate has more votes than the other, beyond the margin of the delegates received by people who have since dropped from the race, award them the nomination. It would save the Democrats from appearing as though sketchy backroom politics were taking prominence over the electoral system.
It seems as if the people no longer have a voice, and that party insiders are picking the candidate instead of the people. For now, all the Democrats can do is hope that the superdelegates won't have to be used in an untested system that could potentially cause more trouble than good.
With the race being so close, it's possible that neither candidate will have enough regular delegates to gain the nomination. This is when the superdelegates will come into play. The superdelegates were established by the Democratic Party for this specific reason. They consist of 796 members of the House, Senate, governors, and distinguished Democratic National Committee leaders.
What is important, however, is that these people have no restriction on their vote based on how their state or district voted. This can cause jockeying for votes if a potential superdelegate count must be made. What is wrong with this system is that many of these people have close personal ties with the candidates, and some have even given endorsements to one of the candidates. So what is the responsibility of the superdelegate? To do the will of the people who are from his or her home state, or to vote for the candidate they personally support?
With the fact that these votes would only be counted if the election were extremely close, and with tensions naturally riding high if that were the case, this system leaves gaping holes for human error. Doesn't it make more sense to tally the total delegates? If one candidate has more votes than the other, beyond the margin of the delegates received by people who have since dropped from the race, award them the nomination. It would save the Democrats from appearing as though sketchy backroom politics were taking prominence over the electoral system.
It seems as if the people no longer have a voice, and that party insiders are picking the candidate instead of the people. For now, all the Democrats can do is hope that the superdelegates won't have to be used in an untested system that could potentially cause more trouble than good.
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