With all of the Presidential primaries and caucuses, it turns out that “Super Delegates” in the Democratic Party, and “Unbound Delegates” in the Republican Party could overrule all of the election results in the two major parties!
“Super Delegates” are several hundred delegates, who are party officers and elected members of Congress and in the state governments, and right now, it is clear that the vast majority favor Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders.
“Unbound Delegates” are about 200 delegates in a few states, including North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, that under Republican state party rules, can go to the convention unbound, no matter what the state voters in those states have voted, and they are enough, along with “Marco Rubio” delegates, to create the possibility of preventing Donald Trump from reaching 1,237 delegates, the majority needed for nomination.
The problem with these different kinds of delegates is they can cause total disillusionment in voters who feel their vote has meant nothing, and that the “Establishment” in both parties is working to undermine the revolt against them, led by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.
One thing is clear: Both parties and their conventions will be far from boring this summer in Cleveland for the Republicans and Philadelphia for the Democrats!
My position is this: Democrats should not have superdelegates. Get rid of them! (Briefly stated by me, yes, but there’s no need to explain why. Plenty has been written here and elsewhere. Get them out of the process. Keeping them in means the Democratic Party is saying that superdelegates’ votes count more than participating Democratic Party primaries/caucuses voters’ individual. This should not continue.)
As this blog mentions, just as Democrats are currently discussing caucuses vs primaries and the role of superdelegates, this presidential primary could spur a conversation about open vs closed primaries.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2016/04/to-continue-momentum-sanders-will-have.html