EDITOR’S NOTE: On Saturday, Democratic Party leaders agreed to bind around two-thirds of superdelegates to the results of state primaries and caucuses. That action came after over 750,000 people spoke out against superdelegates, including more than 150,000 at the petition hosted at EndSuperDelegates.com. David Segal of Demand Progress called the rule change a “partial victory” that came about thanks to grassroots activism and stressed the need to keep up the pressure to make sure the recommendations are adopted. You can click here to sign the petition at EndSuperDelegates.com.
What’s going on?
When delegates at the Democratic National Committee vote on rule changes tomorrow, Saturday, July 23, we have a golden opportunity to get rid of unelected superdelegates for good.
Thousands of delegates from across the country will vote on an amendment to eliminate superdelegates in all future primaries. More than a dozen state parties have voted to oppose superdelegates and supporters of both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have indicated that they will support the rule change.
Unelected superdelegates have as much say in picking the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee as voters in 24 states, the District of Columbia, and 4 territories combined. The 712 unelected superdelegates make up 30% of the 2,383 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
On top of that, these unelected party insiders are whiter (nearly two-thirds), older (average age: 60), and more male-dominated (58%) than Democratic voters at large.
What Can I Do?
Our friends at Demand Progress have built a tool that will deliver your signature—next to tens of thousands of other names—to the delegates who will make the decision on whether to eliminate superdelegates. Sign the petition and then, for those of you on Twitter, they’ve set up a tool letting you tweet directly to those delegates.
Read More
In the most recent issue of The Nation, writers and activists like Naomi Klein, Alicia Garza, Michael Moore, and Frances Fox Piven offer tips on how we advance the “political revolution” touted by Sanders during this year’s primary.
