DNC Votes to Change Primary Rules, Limit Power of Superdelegates

A Democratic National Committee panel voted Wednesday to limit the power of superdelegates — the party’s controversial system of unpledged delegates, the HuffPost reported.

The Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to prevent superdelegates from voting on the first ballot during the party's presidential nominating convention, "unless a candidate has already earned enough pledged delegate votes from state primaries and caucuses to win the nomination," the HuffPost reported.

The move was viewed as a victory for supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who called for superdelegate reform after Democratic presidential primary rival Hillary Clinton won the party's 2016 nomination.

Sanders backers have argued that without superdelegates, he would have secured the nomination, The Hill reported. Clinton won 544.5 superdelegates in the 2016 primary, compared with Sanders' 44.5, The Hill reported.

"We have to make sure that we work to rebuild the trust among many who feel frankly alienated from our party," DNC Chairman Tom Perez said during a conference call last month during which members of the committee first approved the change, CNN reported.

The full DNC will vote on the changes in August, the HuffPost reported.

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