I ran into a well-known super-delegate a few days ago as we crossed paths doing some media stuff (I’m only leaving her name out of this for now because it’s not the point of the story). We chit-chatted and I raised the issue of the potential undemocratic nature of super-delegates undercutting the actual vote of real people in the primaries and caucuses in the Democratic nomination fight. She seemed a bit more defensive than need be, warning me not to raise the issue now.

Well, right there, that’s a mistake to say “don’t talk about it.” So, I do in this piece in today’s NY Daily News. One observation: you know, this would be simple—all leading super delegates would have to do to put this whole thing to rest is to publicly say they will vote for the person who comes to the convention with the most delegates. Period. End of Story.

The piece:

We correctly criticize undemocratic elections in countries with dictators or one-party systems. That said, our self-satisfied view of other countries’ shortcomings is blind to our own creaky, often flawed, election system. No better example beckons than the possibility that the Democratic nomination will be decided by an unelected group of people who will thwart, in a backroom deal, the actual desires expressed by real voters.

To win the Democratic nomination, either Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton must amass a majority of the 4,764 delegates to the Democratic convention, which takes place in Philadelphia in July. Most voters think those delegates are all allocated by votes held in primaries or caucuses. Unfortunately, that's not true: A full 15% — 712 — are unelected so-called superdelegates.

Let's understand who these 712 superdelegates are. Elected Democrats in Congress and the party's governors make up a significant chunk (whose numbers have shrunk due partly to the dismal leadership of DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz). The remaining bloc are Democratic National Committee members, who are a mish mash of other elected officials, party functionaries and heads of partly-aligned groups such as unions and leading advocacy organizations.

Most of these people are capable and legitimate activists — solid Democrats who have, in their own right, been elected by voters to serve in their respective positions. And, almost by definition, they are part of the party establishment.

The key point, however, is that they never ran on, nor were they ever elected by voters, on the critical question of who the party’s presidential standard-bearer should be.

This isn’t simply a process point. Any presidential primary contest is a debate about the direction of the party and what it will stand for. That is especially true in 2016: Sanders has defined the election as a choice between his vision of a progressive political revolution versus the centrist establishment politics and economic policies represented by Clinton.

Yet based on pledges from superdelegates, the media is reporting that Clinton has a big lead in the delegate count — even though people in Iowa and New Hampshire are the only actual Democrats who have voted. That’s misleading, and helps fuels the false narrative that Clinton is in a position to win even if she continues to do poorly in future contests.

Though superdelegates have indicated a preference, that is all it is; they can still vote at the convention for anyone they please. Their numbers should not be included in any hard count.

More ominously, this race could well wind up to be a very tight one. At the end of the day, if Democrats arrive at the convention with Sanders holding a lead in elected delegates, the party will face a fundamental question: Will the superdelegates seize the nomination from Sanders and hand it to Clinton?

We must be on guard. More than 100,000 people have signed a “Let The Voters Decide” petition by Moveon.org, which endorsed Sanders after a poll in which he drew 78% of the vote. The petition says it succinctly: “The race for the Democratic Party nomination should be decided by who gets the most votes, and not who has the most support from party insiders. That’s why we’re calling on all the Democratic superdelegates to pledge to back the will of the voters at the Democratic Party convention in Philadelphia.”

I’ve now traveled the country for a number of months. I’ve been to the early voting states, as well as to other important states like Florida and California. Watching the energy and enthusiasm for Sanders, particularly among younger voters, I come away with two conclusions.

If Clinton wins the majority of the delegates at stake via primaries and caucuses, virtually all the people I have met and spoken to will accept that decision and vote for her in the general election. The prospect of a Trump or Rubio or Cruz presidency is just too scary to fathom.

But if Sanders wins the majority of delegates in the democratic voting process, and superdelegates ignore the will of the people and hand the nomination to Clinton, the Democratic Party will implode for a generation. A wave of voters, especially young people, will walk out of the party, perhaps never to return — but certainly they will stay at home on Election Day unwilling to cast a vote for a nominee they will view as illegitimate.

By their action, superdelegates will either turn the energy of the robust contest underway into victory in November — or find that energy pulsating from thousands of people protesting outside the convention’s halls.

Ok, that’s how I see it from Nevada, where I head into the rural areas tomorrow to spread the political revolution.

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