Democrats follow a complicated process for selecting their 113 delegates and eight alternates to the national convention, this July in Philadelphia. “If you look at the infrastructure of the party, it is going to say that not just anybody is going to get to be a delegate,” said Kendra Cotton, political director of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “If you want to be a delegate … you don’t just get to pop up and get to be a delegate.”
Each type of delegate is selected separately.
Party rules require there be an equal number of male and female delegates from the state. There is an allocation of male and female slots for each type of delegate to keep in balance. The party has affirmative-action targets to meet as well.
“In the selection of the at-large delegation, priority of consideration shall be given to African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and women,” said the party rules. First are the so-called super delegates who aren’t bound to any candidate.
They include the Democratic members of Congress, the five members of the Democratic National Committee living in Georgia and former President Jimmy Carter. Another 15 un-pledged Party Leader and Elected Official type delegates are automatically selected because of their position.
“The reason we have the super delegates is so we don’t end up like the (Republican National Committee) right now,” Cotton said. “So you don’t have a rogue person that comes in and upsets everything.”
Next are the 13 pledged Party Leader and Elected Official type delegates. People in this category apply, and the presidential campaigns make the selection, which is then voted on by the district delegates.
Then are the 64 delegates selected by district conventions who are also bound to the winner of Georgia’s March 1 primary. For instance, in the 9th District, one male and two females will be selected.
These are the slots the rank-and-file party members are most likely to fill. “Young people don’t realize the competition. People who have a lot of experience are out front,” said Lowell Greenbaum of Augusta, a delegate at multiple national conventions and a one-time chairman of the Georgia delegation.
The 21 at-large delegates and eight alternates are elected by the Georgia Democratic Committee with approval by the presidential campaigns.
