Delegates

A person authorized to represent others and act or vote on their behalf in a formal political process. The term is used in several distinct contexts in American politics, including party conventions, the Electoral College, and congressional representation for non-state territories. In each case, the delegate's role is to represent a constituency rather than act on purely personal judgment, though the degree to which delegates are bound to follow the preferences of those they represent varies significantly by context.

A delegate to a political party's national convention who is committed to supporting a specific presidential candidate, based on the results of their state's primary election or caucus. Pledged delegates are allocated to candidates proportionally or on a winner-take-all basis depending on the state and party rules. They are generally required to vote for their pledged candidate on at least the first ballot at the convention, though rules about how long that commitment holds vary by party.

A delegate to a political party's national convention who is not bound by the results of any primary or caucus and can vote for any candidate of their choosing. The Democratic Party's unpledged delegates, commonly known as superdelegates, include elected officials and party leaders. Under current Democratic Party rules, superdelegates cannot vote on the first ballot at the convention unless one candidate has already secured enough pledged delegates to win the nomination outright.

An unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is a current or former officeholder, party leader, or other designated party official. Superdelegates were created by the Democratic Party in the 1980s to give party insiders a role in the nominating process. Their influence was significantly curtailed by party rule changes adopted in 2018, which prevent superdelegates from voting on the first ballot unless the nomination has already been decided by pledged delegates alone. The Republican Party does not use the superdelegate system in the same way.

A person selected to attend a political party's national convention and cast votes on party business, including the nomination of the presidential and vice presidential candidates and the adoption of the party platform. Convention delegates are selected through a variety of processes depending on the state and party, including primary elections, caucuses, and state party conventions. Attending and participating in a party convention as a delegate is one of the most direct ways an ordinary citizen can participate in the presidential nomination process.

A formal gathering of delegates representing a political party, held at the state or national level, for the purpose of nominating candidates, adopting a party platform, and conducting other official party business. National party conventions are held every four years to formally nominate the presidential and vice presidential candidates. State party conventions are held on varying schedules and may nominate candidates for state offices, select delegates to the national convention, and set state party rules and priorities.

The process by which a state's delegates to a national party convention are distributed among presidential candidates based on the results of the state's primary or caucus. Each party has its own rules governing delegate allocation, including whether delegates are awarded proportionally to all candidates who meet a minimum threshold or on a winner-take-all basis to the candidate who wins the state or individual congressional districts.

A system in which convention delegates are distributed among candidates in proportion to the share of votes each candidate received, provided they meet a minimum threshold, typically 15 percent for the Democratic Party. Proportional allocation tends to produce longer nomination contests because no single candidate can quickly accumulate a commanding delegate lead by winning states by narrow margins.

A primary election in which the candidate who wins the most votes in a state or congressional district receives all of that state's or district's delegates, regardless of the margin of victory. Winner-take-all primaries are used primarily in the Republican nominating process and can allow a candidate to build a decisive delegate lead more quickly than under proportional allocation rules.

The running total of convention delegates that each presidential candidate has secured through primaries, caucuses, and other selection processes during a nominating contest. Tracking the delegate count is a central part of presidential primary coverage because winning the nomination requires accumulating a majority of delegates, not simply winning the most states. A candidate can win more states than their opponent and still trail in the delegate count if they win by smaller margins.

A party convention at which no candidate arrives with enough pledged delegates to win the nomination outright on the first ballot, requiring multiple rounds of voting and negotiation to determine the nominee. In a brokered convention, delegates who were bound to their candidate on the first ballot may become free to vote for any candidate in subsequent rounds, opening the door to deal-making and the potential emergence of a compromise candidate. Brokered conventions were common in the 19th and early 20th centuries but have not occurred in the modern primary era.

A convention at which the outcome of the presidential nomination is not determined before delegates arrive, because no candidate has secured a majority of pledged delegates through the primary and caucus process. The terms brokered convention and contested convention are often used interchangeably, though some distinguish between a contested convention, in which the leading candidates negotiate among themselves, and a brokered convention, in which party power brokers play a decisive role in choosing the nominee.

The minimum percentage of votes a presidential candidate must receive in a primary or caucus in order to be awarded any delegates from that contest. The Democratic Party uses a 15 percent threshold at both the state and congressional district level, meaning candidates who fall below that share receive no delegates from that unit. The threshold is designed to winnow the field and concentrate delegates among viable candidates, though it has also been criticized for effectively eliminating candidates who have meaningful but not dominant support.

A representative elected by residents of a U.S. territory or the District of Columbia to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in a limited capacity. Non-voting delegates can introduce legislation, speak on the House floor, and serve on and vote in committees, but they cannot cast votes on final passage of legislation on the House floor. The existence of non-voting delegates reflects the unresolved question of full democratic representation for the millions of U.S. citizens living in territories and the District of Columbia.

The non-voting delegate elected by residents of the District of Columbia to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives. The D.C. delegate can participate in committee work and floor debate but cannot vote on final passage of bills. Despite paying federal taxes and being subject to federal law, D.C. residents have no voting representation in Congress, a situation that advocates for D.C. statehood argue is fundamentally undemocratic. The District does have three electoral votes in presidential elections, granted by the 23rd Amendment.

A non-voting delegate elected by residents of a U.S. territory, including Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives. Like the D.C. delegate, territory delegates can participate in committee work and floor debate but cannot vote on final passage of legislation. The approximately 3.5 million U.S. citizens living in territories have no voting representation in Congress and, with the exception of those born in certain territories, cannot vote in presidential elections.

The representative of Puerto Rico in the U.S. House of Representatives, a position that differs from other territory delegates in that the resident commissioner serves a four-year term rather than a two-year term and is elected on the same cycle as the president. Like other non-voting delegates, the resident commissioner can participate in committee work and floor debate but cannot vote on final passage of legislation. Puerto Rico, with a population of approximately 3.2 million U.S. citizens, is the most populous U.S. territory without full congressional representation or voting rights in presidential elections.