Politico - A Maine Democratic lawmaker is kicking off the expected convention fight over the role of superdelegates by proposing to abolish them altogether.
State Rep. Diane Russell is submitting an amendment to the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chairs, Rep. Barney Frank and Leticia Van De Putte, that would amend the DNC's charter to eliminate the unpledged delegates.
Russell, a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, lead a May effort to push Maine's superdelegates to align their support in proportion to the outcome of the state's Democratic caucuses. In Maine, Sanders had defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 64 percent to 35 percent, but still failed to capture most of the state's superdelegates.
Abolishing the party’s superdelegate system is one of the key reforms that Sanders is seeking at the convention, a reflection of his experience winning state contests but seeing potential delegate gains limited or erased by the votes of superdelegates. Sanders supporters and other top liberal Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and former Sen. Russ Feingold have recently expressed support for reforming or getting rid of superdelegates all together.
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