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Undermining The Will Of Voters

Editorial: Democrats' Superdelegates

Equal, only more so

If you vote for a candidate for president, and your candidate receives the most votes, then your candidate wins, right?

> Not necessarily in the Democratic primary. (Nor in the infamous general election of 2000, as you might recall.)

> Before this year, few people knew - or cared - that a group of Democratic Party insiders known as "superdelegates" had the potential to cancel out the votes of ordinary citizens.

> But more Democrats are paying attention now that the closeness of the race between Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois has increased the likelihood of superdelegates deciding who will be the party nominee. As of yesterday, Obama and Clinton were virtually deadlocked.

> To win the nomination, a candidate needs 2,025 of the 4,090 delegates at stake at the Democratic National Convention; among them are 796 superdelegates. A superdelegate isn't bound to vote for a given candidate, regardless of the popular vote in his or her state's primary or caucus.

> (The Republican Party doesn't have superdelegates, although it does have 463 "unpledged" delegates, about 19 percent of the total.)

> Most superdelegates are elected Democratic Party officials, including Govs. Rendell and Corzine and all of the Democratic members of Congress. Also among them are people such as State Sen. Dana Redd of Camden and former Philadelphia City Councilwoman Carol Ann Campbell.

> These men and women are the prizes in a parallel, less visible contest between Clinton and Obama. More than half of the Democratic superdelegates haven't declared which candidate they will support.

> Democratic Party officials should get rid of this establishment-friendly rule before the next presidential contest. This system, in place for decades, has the potential to undermine the collective will of voters. Who knows what deals will be made to gain a superdelegate's allegiance?

> Democratic officials defend superdelegates, saying it makes sense to include people who have worked hard for the party and are passionate about its success. They say superdelegates don't ignore voters' wishes.

> Even regular delegates aren't bound by law to vote for a particular candidate, although they almost always vote for the person to whom they are pledged.

> Still, the very existence of superdelegates is the party's way of saying it doesn't trust the will of the voters.

> This feature was created to ensure that the Democratic Party establishment could nullify a candidate deemed too risky. But it has the potential this year to deny voters the final say in a contest between two strong candidates.

> Political parties, of course, have the right to create rules as they see fit. But allowing so many freelancing delegates increases the likelihood of a contest being settled in a backroom - not at the ballot box.