Super Delegates: Impact on Trust in the Democratic Presidential Candidate Nomination Process

Abstract

In 2008, approximately 20 percent of the delegates seated at the Democratic National Convention will be classified as super delegates. Super delegates are individuals who are not required to cast their votes for the democratic nominee according to their states primary caucus results. Super delegates are selected through an informal process by leadership in the Democratic National Committee based on their accomplishments as current or former elected officials. Super delegates have the ability to profoundly influence the outcome of the democratic candidate nomination process.

Western democracies are characterized by fair and frequent elections. In theory, every vote counts and each individual has the same opportunity to influence the outcome of a primary or general election, however small. This philosophy, to a certain degree, should be applied to the democratic candidate nomination process. At no other time since the inception of the super delegate system has there been a device with the potential to have such a significant and adverse impact on faith and trust in the democratic presidential candidate nomination process. In theory, super delegates are given far greater influence in the democratic presidential nomination process than the average delegate. More importantly, the super delegates do not represent a true cross section of the voting population or the delegate pool. The primary goal of this paper is to determine the extent to which a system, which appears to run counter to the premise and philosophy of a fair and competitive democratic process, effects faith in the electoral system.

Keywords: super delegates, DNC, democratic nomination process, delegates, democracy

JEL Classification: Z00