Winstonm, on 2023-December-21, 23:52, said:
I actually disagree that superdelegates are less democratic, at least when used correctly. American primaries are generally voted on by the most extreme elements within a party's caucus. If left unchecked this produces bad candidates that appeal only to the base but not to the country as a whole. I tend to associate this with the Left, as in the UK it is the Labour Party that have had issues over the years of unelectable candidates whereas the Conservatives tend to be more pragmatic and choose the candidates that have the best chance of winning. The idea of having a check on those extreme elements that essentially represent potential voters that are not represented in the primaries is a good one. When done correctly, it effectively increases the range of voters being represented. Of course American super-delegates do not need to represent this group when casting their votes, which is where the potential loss in democracy comes from. With good SDs who understand what their role should be though, it is generally an improvement in terms of getting the candidates that the voters want, rather than those that a small portion prefer. This is just one example of the complexity of democracy.