Super voters

Voters are the ones who decide elections.\nSort of.\nAs anyone with a general knowledge of American politics knows, some of the biggest decisions we make aren’t true democratic votes. The outcome of the presidential general election is really decided by the Electoral College, not the popular vote. The nominating process for each party’s presidential candidate works in a similar fashion, where votes are used to decide how a specified number of delegates will be divided between the candidates.\nThat seems a bit undemocratic, but in the nomination process for the Democratic presidential candidate, it gets even worse. Enter the "super delegates."\nA super delegate is essentially a distinguished member of the party — like a member of Congress or party officials — who, like normal delegates, gets to vote at the Democratic National Convention to determine who receives the party’s nomination. However, unlike regular delegates, super delegates are not bound by the voters of the states they hail from. Super delegates are completely free as voters. They can vote for whichever candidate they prefer.\nEssentially, a super delegate is a person who has many times the power of a typical voter. Normally this isn’t an issue because the nominations are usually sewn up fairly early in the process. However, with this year’s close race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, there’s a chance that the DNC will be a brokered convention — one in which no candidate would have the required number of delegates to seal the nomination. This would give the super delegates extraordinary power to choose the party’s nominee.\nThe entire delegate system, including the super delegates, was developed in an effort to increase the impact of the actual votes and decrease the impact of the party’s leaders. However, the existence of super delegates clearly diminishes that effect.\nAs mentioned earlier, a super delegate is not required to adhere to any guidelines when voting. They are not bound by the vote of any state. Thus, they’re not bound by the will of the people. There are approximately 800 super delegates in play in this election, and that’s more than enough to make a significant difference in who wins this nomination. \nThe primary/caucus process was supposed to eliminate the “smoke-filled rooms” of yesteryear, where party bosses would gather to decide on nominees without any regard to the will of the people. It doesn’t appear that success has necessarily been achieved. \nThis system, like the Electoral College, basically has its purpose rooted in the idea that the general public isn’t smart enough to make decisions on its own. It essentially puts a buffer between the people and the actual decision. With the advent of modern communications technology, though, people are far more informed than they were in the infancy of the U.S. I’m not convinced that the people who have been designated super delegates (or delegates, or presidential electors) are any more qualified to choose a president than anyone else. It seems that the time for these buffers has passed, especially the super delegates. Put the power in the hands of the people, and eliminate the smoke-filled rooms once and for all.