Alaska. Maine. Wisconsin. And now West Virginia. All have passed resolutions calling for the end of superdelegates as part of the presidential nominating process.
Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) has created an online petition launched via Facebook, calling on all opposed to the use of superdelegates in determining the presidential nominee, to sign.
“The current system is designed to stand against grassroots activists and the will of the voters. Whether you are a Bernie Sanders supporter or are a Hillary Clinton supporter, we should all agree that unelected party officials and lobbyists should not have a say in who the presidential nominee of our party is. If you agree, please add your name to our petition supporting an end to superdelegates today.“
All of the resolutions made by the state committees, and the petition by Gabbard, are non-binding. Only the Democratic National Committee can alter the process which has been in place since 1982. It was after the 1980 convention that the committee decided it needed more input from leaders within the party.
“So in order to get them there, you basically made them automatic delegates to the convention, and in the years since 1984, they have never – and this I think is important – they have never changed the outcome of the public portion of the process. They have always gone along – whoever had the most delegates elected in primaries going into the convention, that’s also where the superdelegates went,” says Elaine Karmack, author of “Everything You Need to Know About How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates” in an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) has long been critical of the role of superdelegates.
“I’m not a believer in the sway of superdelegates deciding who is going to be the nominee,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. “I think we have a democratic process where people vote on both sides of the aisle … and that that should determine who the nominee is.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren shares that sentiment. When asked about the resolution Massachusetts Democrats passed to review the role of superdelegates before the 2020 election, she had this to say:
“I’m a superdelegate and I don’t believe in superdelegates. I don’t think that superdelegates ought to sway the election.”
Whether or not this is the year the argument gains any traction at the national level, remains to be seen.
Featured image, Facebook screenshot.
