Democrats on Saturday voted to chip away at the role party insiders play in choosing the party’s presidential nominee in one of the biggest changes to the process in decades.
The move to limit the influence of “superdelegates” at the party’s convention ahead of the 2020 presidential primaries ended an emotional and tumultuous two-year effort born out of the divisive 2016 contest between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who went on to become the Democratic nominee.
In a surprisingly united vote, almost all members of the Democratic National Convention curtailed the ability of the superdelegates to vote on the first ballot for the party’s presidential nominee beginning with the next election. The group of about 700 automatic, unpledged party leaders, elected officials and activists previously were able to back whichever candidate for the nomination they chose.
The move ended a vehemently contested debate that had pitted a majority of DNC members supporting the change against two former party chairs, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and others who opposed the new rules. Both sides came together to pass the overhauled process ahead of the next presidential campaign. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Democratic National Committee members adopted language to their charter and rules Saturday to include gender self-identification and gender nonbinary members
The new wording amends the party’s charter requirement that all committees and like bodies be divided equally between men and women to account for members who don’t identify with either gender.
The language now says committees “shall be as equally divided as practicable between men and women (determined by gender self-identification) meaning that the variance between men and women in the group cannot exceed one (1).”
Gender nonbinary members will not be counted as either male or female, “and the remainder of the delegation shall be equally divided.” – READ MORE