With the current election process, voters elect delegates to represent them at the state and national conventions. Accompanying those pledged delegates are 796 unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates. These party activists and elected officials get a vote at the convention because of their position, but they are not bound to vote in a certain way. The nomination process is continuing a lot longer than usual, still without a presumptive nominee, and if this pattern continues up until the convention, the superdelegates may end up choosing the next Democratic presidential candidate.
 

Many question the results of taking that choice out of the hands of the voters. The issue is a contentious one, with many negative feelings toward the prospect of the decision being made by this group of unelected party officials. It is possible that if the superdelegates end up deciding the election, many voters from the opposing nominee’s camp will stay home. That result could end up costing the Democrats the election in November.

The race is really close now, and even the news stations cannot seem to agree on the delegate counts. Because the superdelegates are not bound to vote a certain way, even if they do endorse a candidate it is still unpredictable which way they will vote. The result is that coming out of the Wyoming caucuses, CNN.com reported Obama with 1,527 delegates and Clinton with 1.428. Looking at the numbers on the Fox News website, however, Clinton has 1,468 delegates and Obama has 1,578. Fox News cites the Associated Press for its delegate count, while CNN calculates the number itself. The difference of around 50 comes from differing opinions on how each superdelegate will vote.

The upside of this extremely close race is the possibility that Kentucky’s primary may actually count for something. This has many people excited for May 20th where Kentucky voters will go into voting booths across the state and vote for their for their parties’ next presidential candidate. To vote in the primary you must be 18 years of age by the general election and check either Democrat or Republican on your registration card. Registration cards may be obtained at the county clerk’s office. The Fayette County Clerk’s office is at 162 East Main Street and may be reached at (859) 255-8683.