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You are here: Home / DC Authors / Behold, the Super Delegate

Behold, the Super Delegate

February 13, 2016 by Jake Legumina Leave a Comment

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Super Delegate

Following the New Hampshire primaries, Bernie Sanders overwhelmingly won the support of New Hampshire voters beating Hillary Clinton by a staggering 22 points. But don’t let the numbers and the headlines fool you, because at the end of the day, they left in a tie. You may ask, how could they tie? Bernie Sanders won 60% of the vote? Well, let me introduce you to what is called a, “Super Delegate.”

You see in New Hampshire, there are 32 delegates up for grabs, eight being super delegates. Keep in mind that it is delegates that determine who will be each party’s nominee. These eight super delegates are actually eight individual people, each of them counting as one delegate. These eight people are comprised of elected and unelected officials, some being elected state politicians, and some being unelected party officials. In the case of New Hampshire, approximately 245,000 people voted in the democratic primary, those 245,000 voters equated to 24 delegates. While the eight other delegates known as super delegates equated to yes, eight delegates. So let’s get this right, 245,000 people get a total of 24 delegates, while eight individual people get eight delegates. If you thought it was solely the people that got to choose their democratic nominee, you would be wrong.

In terms of primary voters Bernie Sanders won 60% of the vote and therefore received 15 delegates, while Hillary Clinton won 38% of the vote and therefore received 9 Delegates. Well Bernie won, right? No, because now you have to factor in the super delegates. Of those eight individuals, six of them have pledged their vote to Hillary Clinton and two are still undecided. So the question must be asked, how is that eight individual people carry so much weight in the Democratic Party primaries?

In a broader perspective there are 720 super delegates that will cast votes for their preferred nomination. These 720 delegates comprise about 30% of all delegates in the Democratic nomination process, and Hillary Clinton is projected to receive the overwhelming majority of these super delegates. This begs the question, how much does your vote really count? Bernie Sanders supporters everywhere are celebrating following New Hampshire, but at the same time the reality of a rigged and unfair political system is starting to seem all too real for Sanders and his supporters.

If Bernie Sanders can continue to gain support and defy the odds, the possibility that he wins the popular vote and not the nomination arises. If this scenario somehow comes true, and given the fiery support and enthusiasm of Bernie Sanders supporters, there may well be a political revolution on our hands come the Democratic Convention in July.

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Filed Under: DC Authors Tagged With: Bernie Sanders, Democrats, Electoral College

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About Jake Legumina

Jake Legumina writes for Democracy Chronicles from San Diego. Jake is also currently a senior at San Diego State University studying Sociology and Political Science with an emphasis in Public Law. Has dedicated his academic career to understanding American politics, specifically the American political economy.

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