In the California primary, you might think
you’re voting for these people…
But you’re actually kind of voting for these
people…
Delegates.
Getting delegates is what presidential nominations
are all about. They’re the ones who pick
the nominee at each party’s convention.
Hi. I’m Ben Christopher, elections reporter
for CalMatters. I’m explaining how delegates
work in California.
Let’s look at the Democratic Party....because
it’s probably going to have the most interesting
primary. There are 4,532 delegates nationwide
— 494 come from California, more than any
other state.
Presidential candidates get delegates in three
ways.
First, by winning big statewide. So, if Joe
Biden wins 22% of the vote of California Democrats,
at least 22% of the state’s delegates will
vote for Biden at the convention. It’s proportional.
Well...almost.
Candidates gets delegates only if they earn
more than 15% of the statewide vote. Less
than that and they get zero, and their would-be
delegates go to the bigger winners.
Second, candidates can win delegates by doing
well in each congressional district. So, if
Bernie Sanders wins 2-out-of-5 votes in the
congressional district that includes Laguna
Beach, he wins two of the district’s five
delegates.
And the last way candidates can win delegates:
schmooze with party leaders. The governor,
U.S. Senators, members of congress...the party
has annointed them “Superdelegates.” And
they can vote for whomever they choose.
A lot of activists hate that because Supedelegates
tend to back “insidery” candidates.
But after the 2016 election, the Democratic
party changed the rules, shrinking the power
of superdelegates. Now, they get to vote on
the nominee at the convention if no candidates
get a majority of the other delegates
That hasn’t happened since 1952...but with
so many candidates in the running this year,
some are predicting it.
What about the GOP?
The Republican Primary isn’t expected to
be as exciting because most Republicans are
still on the Trump Train.
Most Republican delegates are selected based
on whom primary voters support at the congressional
level, but a candidate who wins more than
50% in a district wins all of its delegates.
“Ta-Da”
That’s how delegates are won in California.
Learn more about the election at CalMatters.org.
For CalMatters, I’m Ben Christopher.
