Bernie Sanders Supporters Just Won a Major Victory at the DNC

After a lengthy battle between Clinton and Sanders delegates in the Rules Committee meeting this Saturday, a compromise has been reached to reduce the effect of superdelegates during future elections, according to The Washington Post.

Under the new agreement, a “Unity Commission” will be formed after the election to reform the primary process. Under the rules set forward, about two-thirds of each state’s superdelegates will be required to vote in proportion to their voters’ preference in the primary election. The agreement was reached in a 158-6 vote that included both Sanders, Clinton, and DNC-appointed members.

Certain prominent Democrats will still retain their privilege as superdelegates to go against voters’ preferences:

The Commission shall make specific recommendations providing that Members of Congress, Governors, and distinguished party leaders remain unpledged and free to support their nominee of choice… but that remaining unpledged delegates be required to cast their vote at the Convention for candidates in proportion to the vote received for each candidate in their state.

The commission is also tasked with pushing greater inclusivity for caucus voters, and to advocate same-day registration and re-registration, though the language on these points was less specific than that on superdelegate reform.

The D.C. representative who made the proposal spoke with The Hill and discussed the plan’s merits, saying, “I want people to understand that this commission is different from others that we’ve had in the past. It’s something that has real teeth in it because it prescribes the outcome for the most part that we are going to see a real change in the superdelegate base reducing them by two thirds.”

The compromise came after a tense day in which several other amendments proposed to reform the superdelegate system were rejected, as Sanders supporters outside the locked meeting room chanting for the doors to be opened to the public. Among the proposals that were voted down were a complete abolishment of the superdelegate system and a plan under which 90 percent of their influence would be removed.