Democrats are considering limiting the influence superdelegates play on the general elections after voters complained the system unfairly torpedoed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential chances.
A new party proposal would prevent favorites like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from claiming massive delegate leads before voters head to the ballot. The part’s proposal would not have caused much of a dent to Clinton’s support.
Superdelegates are major party leaders and elected officials who get a direct say in presidential elections. They could support either candidate in 2016, but many of them went to Clinton, who beat Sanders during the primaries by 3 million votes.
Under the new rules, superdelegates would have to tie their votes on the convention’s first ballot to the outcome of primaries and caucuses, though some members of Congress and siting governors would retain the right to vote as they please.
The proposal is among several ideas that will be debated Friday and Saturday at the final meeting of national Democrats’ Unity Commission, which Clinton, Sanders, and others, created to recommend changes for the party after the last contentious primary season.
Sanders’ supporters were irate after reports surfaced suggesting Clinton was given the keys to the Democratic National Committee (DNC)’s bank account.
The DNC struck a deal with Clinton during the summer of 2015 that gave her presidential campaign authority to approve or disapprove DNC hires, according to a memo NBC reported earlier this year.
In exchange for Hillary for America’s bailing out the debt-crippled DNC, officials agreed to hire a communications director from “one of two candidates previously identified as acceptable to HFA,” the memo notes. The deal also allowed Sanders the same opportunity during the election.
The memorandum, which was signed in August of 2015, or less than four months after Clinton announced her candidacy, details the relationship and the talks between Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook and DNC CEO Amy Dacey.
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