Here’s a story that’s bubbling under at the moment. As I check this morning Obama has 986 delegates to Clinton’s 924. But Clinton leads, because she has more superdelegates than Obama. Superdelegates are a collection of prominent Democrats such as governors, members of Congress, and party leaders and former leaders. They have no accountability beyond the promises they make and get made in return.
That should already sound undemocratic, because it is. In the past that hasn’t really mattered, because one candidate is so far ahead that the superdelegates are just the icing on the cake. This year, however, both candidates are acceptable to the majority of Democrats, and so are splitting the vote. The majority of Democratic primaries split their delegates according to the relative result, rather than ‘winner takes all’, which means that this tie is likely to continue in the absence of some shock. That means that the superdelegates will actually choose the candidate. And right now it appears they know better than the electorate. Now that’s undemocratic.