With the Democratic presidential nomination still up for grabs, the issue of superdelegates is on the forefront of media attention, grabbing headlines and yes, even one of Jon Stewart's jokes at the Oscars last Sunday.
Despite this attention, many Penn students - and Democratic voters across the country, it seems - are still unclear as to what superdelegates are.
"You always hear the name and hear about them switching [from one candidate to another], but they never really tell you who they are," College freshman Mike Garofalo said.
Superdelegates, who are elected officials or party officials selected independently from primary and caucus results, attend the Democratic National Convention and cast a vote for one of the candidates. They will make up about one-fifth of the total delegates at the DNC this August.
Zoe Dare, a College sophomore, was also unclear on the nature of superdelegates. "I hadn't heard of them before this election," Dare said, noting that she had "heard that the Clinton campaign was relying on superdelegates" but was never really sure what they are.
"The biggest problem the public has with superdelegates is that they don't understand who they are, why they are and what they do," said St. Joseph's University history professor and political analyst Randall Miller. "The concept is actually quite confusing."
Miller added that the general lack of knowledge about superdelegates could cause contention and a "real sense of betrayal" among Democratic voters if they end up playing a significant role in choosing the nominee this summer, particularly if the superdelegates' decision goes against that of the general public.
This possibility has sparked a great deal of debate about whether superdelegates who are also elected officials should cast their votes based on the public opinion in their districts.
"It's a good argument to make that if the people have spoken in that district overwhelmingly in one way or another, they should take that to heart," Miller said.
But Miller pointed out that despite this sentiment, superdelegates were created in order to counteract the regular pledged delegates, which are bound to vote for a certain candidate based on primary results.
"The whole idea of superdelegates argues for independent judgement," he said.
Some Penn students, however, seem skeptical about the concept of superdelegates casting independent votes.
"I personally think elections should be based on and won on the popular vote all around," Nursing junior Jennifer Johnson said. "The superdelegates should vote based on their districts."
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