Here's how the Democratic Party is reforming its controversial superdelegate system

The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to reform the superdelegate system, curtailing the power of elite members of the Democratic Party whose role in choosing Democrats' presidential nominee has increasingly been decried as undemocratic.

In years past, the roughly 700 superdelegates could back the candidate of their choosing, irrespective of primary outcomes, and they tended to favor establishment figures like Hillary Clinton over comparative outsiders like Bernie Sanders. For example, in April 2016, Clinton had 1,243 pledged delegates secured via primary wins to Sanders' 980 — a strong lead, but not insurmountable. However, she also had 469 superdelegates. Sanders had just 31.

Superdelegates will now be banned from the first round of delegate voting unless a candidate has already secured a majority of pledged delegates. The Sanders wing of the party was a strong voice in support of the change.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Today is a historic day for our party," said DNC Chair Tom Perez. These reforms will help grow our party, unite Democrats, and restore voters' trust."

The change was opposed by former DNC Chair Don Fowler, as well as many members of the DNC Black Caucus who labeled it a type of disenfranchisement. "Are you telling me that I'm going to go to a convention, after my 30 years of blood, sweat, and tears for this party, that you're going to take away my right to appease a group of people?" asked DNC Vice Chair Karen Carter Peterson, a black state senator from Louisiana.