The debate over the first amendment, which failed 108 to 58, pit insurgent Sanders backers against the party establishment.
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Liberal groups demanding an end to the Democratic Party’s superdelegates system handed over a half-million signatures to members of the convention rules committee Saturday ahead of a critical meeting.
“We are going to be making this case as vociferously as possible”, said Regunberg, the sponsor of the amendment.
Garcia was referring to an argument first raised in a Congressional Black Caucus letter sent in June where the lawmakers argued that they preferred the superdelegate system because it allowed them to evade “the burdensome necessity of competing against constituents for the honor of representing the state during the nominating process”.
One proponent of the amendment said that superdelegates are disproportionately male and the “voices of women are getting lost” as a result.
Those who opposed the amendment to abolish superdelegates pushed back on the charges that it is undemocratic.
Critics have long said the process can favor a candidate who is actually unpopular with voters.
“I am fully aware of those who have concerns with the superdelegate process”. He agreed that the process needs to be reformed, but not two days before the Democratic National Convention.
The rules are expected to be formally adopted this week during the convention in Philadelphia.
Still, even if the commission does support eliminating some superdelegates, the idea would still need approval from the DNC committee, which has squashed similar moves in the past.
“We’re going to go in and we’re going to call on the Rules Committee to do the right thing”, Diane Russell, a state representative from ME, said.
While Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders decisively in the Democratic primary, her dominance of the superdelegates made a Sanders victory virtually impossible.
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If the last round of primaries and caucuses had not included superdelegates, Rodolfo says Bernie Sanders would likely have become the Democratic nominee, which could have brought about changes to the party’s platform.
