Editing Superdelegate (section)

====Reform of superdelegates====
=====DNC Unity Reform Commission (2016&ndash;17)=====
On July 23, 2016, ahead of the [[2016 Democratic National Convention]], the 2016 DNC Rules Committee voted overwhelmingly (158–6) to adopt a superdelegate reform package. The new rules were the result of a compromise between the [[Hillary Clinton]] and the [[Bernie Sanders]] presidential campaigns; in the past, Sanders had pressed for the complete elimination of superdelegates.<ref name="Weigel">{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/23/democrats-vote-to-bind-most-superdelegates-to-state-primary-results/|title=Democrats vote to bind most superdelegates to state primary results|newspaper=The Washington Post|last=Weigel|first=David|date=July 23, 2016|access-date=August 7, 2016}}</ref>

Under the reform package, a 21-member unity commission, chaired by Clinton supporter [[Jennifer O'Malley Dillon]] and vice-chaired by Sanders supporter [[Larry Cohen (union leader)|Larry Cohen]], was appointed after the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 general election]]. The commission's recommendations would be voted on at the next Democratic National Committee meeting, well before the beginning of the 2020 Democratic primaries.<ref name="Weigel"/> The commission was to consider "a mix of Clinton and Sanders ideas": expanding the ability of eligible voters to participate in caucuses (an idea supported by Clinton) and expanding the ability of unaffiliated or new voters to join the Democratic Party and vote in Democratic primaries via [[Same-day voter registration|same-day registration and re-registration]] (an idea supported by Sanders).<ref name="Weigel"/> The commission drew comparisons to the [[McGovern–Fraser Commission]], which established party primary reforms before the [[1972 Democratic National Convention]].<ref name="Weigel"/>

By April 2017, the complete commission had been appointed. In accordance with the compromise agreement, the 21 members include, in addition to O'Malley Dillon and Cohen; nine members selected by Clinton, seven selected by Sanders, and three selected by the DNC chair ([[Tom Perez]]).<ref>Daniel Marans, [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dnc-unity-reform-commission_us_58f50d1fe4b0b9e9848d92eb DNC Announces Members Of Unity Reform Commission], ''Huffington Post'' (April 17, 2017).</ref> By May 2017, the DNC Unity Reform Commission had begun to meet to begin drafting reforms, including superdelegate reform as well as primary calendar and caucus reform.<ref>Alex Roarty, [http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article149164704.html Beyond Trump, Democrats are bitterly divided], McClatchy DC (May 7, 2017).</ref>

The commission met in the summer and fall of 2017.<ref name="Debenedetti">Gabriel Debenedetti, [https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/15/tim-kaine-end-superdelegates-244944 Kaine calls for eliminating superdelegates: Hillary Clinton's VP sides with Bernie Sanders in a fight that's divided Democrats], ''Politico'' (November 15, 2017).</ref> Different proposals on superdelegates were considered by the party. One proposal was to bind all or some superdelegates to the results of state primaries and caucuses.<ref name="Weigel"/><ref name="Debenedetti"/> Whether to abolish superdelegates altogether remained controversial within the party.<ref name="Debenedetti"/> In December 2017, the Unity Commission's recommendations <ref>O'Malley Dillon, Jen, and Cohen, Larry. [https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/URC_Report_FINAL.pdf "Report of the Unity Reform Commission"], Dec. 8-9, 2017.</ref> were delivered to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee.<ref>David Weigel & Ed O'Keefe, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/10/19/dnc-reshuffle-has-some-worrying-about-a-purge/ DNC reshuffle has some worrying about a 'purge'], ''Washington Post'' (October 19, 2017).</ref> Perez and Deputy DNC Chair [[Keith Ellison]] co-authored an [[op-ed]] for CNN, announcing that the party would make a "significant" cut in the number of superdelegates who vote to decide on the presidential nominee.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/363829-dnc-chair-vice-chair-endorse-superdelegate-reform/ |title=DNC leaders call for 'significant' cut in Dem superdelegates |last=Bowden |first=John |date=December 7, 2017 |website=The Hill |access-date=December 13, 2017}}</ref> 

=====''Adoption of superdelegate reform (2018)''=====
Ultimately, the DNC decided to prevent superdelegates from voting on the first ballot, instead of reducing their numbers.<ref name=Herndon>{{cite news |last=Herndon |first=Astead W. |date=August 25, 2018 |title=Democrats Overhaul Controversial Superdelegate System |newspaper=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/25/us/politics/superdelegates-democrats-dnc.html |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}</ref> On August 25, 2018, the DNC approved a plan to reduce the influence of superdelegates by barring them from voting on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention, allowing them to vote only in a [[Brokered convention|contested convention]] (''i.e.'', if a Democratic National Convention did not choose the nominee on the first ballot, because no candidate received an absolute majority [more than 50%] of the pledged delegates elected from the outcome of primaries and caucuses).<ref name=Herndon/><ref name="GPdelegates">{{cite web |title=The Green Papers |url=https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P20/D |access-date=March 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306235014/https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P20/D |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ConventionVotes">{{cite web|url=https://frontloading.blogspot.com/2019/05/magic-number-determining-winning-number.html|title=Magic Number? Determining the Winning Number of Democratic Delegates Will Be Tougher in 2020|publisher=Frontloading HQ|date=May 15, 2019|access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref> This does not preclude superdelegates from publicly endorsing a candidate of their choosing before the convention.<ref name="GPdelegates"/>

The plan, which was endorsed by DNC chair [[Tom Perez]], former DNC chair [[Howard Dean]], and other party leaders, passed by an overwhelming margin; the ''New York Times'' noted that the compromise was a "rare [[mind meld]]  between the Democratic establishment and progressive activists who have often chided the party's elite."<ref name=Herndon/> The only dissenter on the DNC Rules Committee was former DNC chairman [[Donald L. Fowler]], who argued that the existing system worked.<ref>David Weigel, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/06/27/democrats-vote-to-limit-voting-power-of-superdelegates/ Democrats vote to limit voting power of 'superdelegates'], ''Washington Post'' (June 27, 2018).</ref>