DNC panel votes to move forward with superdelegate reform

A Democratic National Committee (DNC) panel voted on Wednesday to limit the power of superdelegates in selecting future presidential nominees. 

The move, long sought by liberals and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) after the 2016 presidential campaign, means superdelegates would not be allowed to vote in most circumstances during the first vote of the presidential nominating process at a party’s convention.

Superdelegates, however, would be able to vote in certain cases, such as contested conventions. They would also be able to run for positions as pledged delegates in their states.

DNC spokesman Michael Tyler said superdelegates would “have to forfeit status as an automatic delegate (superdelegate)” in order to run for pledged delegate positions.  

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The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee measure, which was voted on last month, would bar superdelegates from voting on the first presidential nomination ballot in a contested convention “unless a candidate has already earned enough pledged delegate votes from state primaries and caucuses to win the nomination,” HuffPost reported.

Many Sanders backers have maintained that without superdelegates, he would have secured the nomination. Clinton won 544.5 superdelegates in the 2016 primary, compared to Sanders’s 44.5.

The Rules and Bylaws Committee voted last month to move forward with the measure. 

The entire DNC will vote on the proposed rule change next month.

Avery Anapol contributed to this report. Updated at 9:15 p.m.