With Primary season well under way, there is one question I constantly get as a Political Science Major: How exactly does delegate allocation work? To be honest, if it wasn’t for taking an Elections course this semester, I’m not sure I’d completely understand it myself. Bear with me, however, as I try my best to break it down.
Delegates: Who Are They?
On both the Republican and Democratic side, there are two types of delegates this election season: Pledged PLEO’s, and un-pledged PLEO’s (Super Delegates). Pledged PLEO’s votes will go to whoever wins the state, while your Super Delegates can decide on their own who they wish to back. However, they are uncommitted, meaning they are free to change their minds at any time; these votes are not final until Conventions. This is why you may see some candidates ahead on Delegate seats before their respective states vote
On the Republican Side:
Republican’s run their Primary’s very differently from the Democrats. To win the nomination, the candidate must reach a specific number of won delegates; Republicans need 1,237. There are 2,470 delegates total up for grabs on the Republican side; 560 of these are at-large, 1,305 from 435 Congressional Districts across the states, 168 party awarded, 437 bonus awarded for R Congressmen, Senators, Governors, etc. How exactly is this broken down from state to state? Let’s look at Ohio as an example:
- 10 at-large delegates for two Senators (5 x 2)
- 48 for Congressional Districts (16 x 3)
- No bonus for electing Obama in 2012
- 1 bonus for Republican Governor
- 1 bonus for majority of U.S. House Delegation
- 1 bonus for majority of one state house
- 1 bonus for majority of both state houses
- 1 bonus for Republican Senator
- 3 party officials
- = 66 Delegates
While DNC Rules call for the delegates to be allocated proportionally, the RNC does not. So what exactly does this mean? South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Arizona, Wisconsin, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Nebraska are winner-take-all this election, meaning whoever wins the state will receive all of the delegates at stake.
All of the remaining states are proportional, meaning the delegates will be distributed proportionally among the candidates. Each state will have a “threshold”, for a candidate to receive any delegates, they must have a minimum percentage of votes, this number can vary from 5-10%, depending on the state. If they do not meet this threshold, they do not receive any of the delegates. The number of delegates per state varies, based on population.
The Republican Party is holding their convention this year in Cleveland, OH from July, 28-21. If no candidate meets the magical 1,237 number by this date, this will result in a contested convention, which essentially means that no nominee will be presented and the party can decide what they wish to do from there.
On the Democratic Side:
The Democrat’s Delegate Allocation Rules are much different than the Republican side. Delegates are allocated 100% proportionally, meaning there are no winner-take-all states. Sounds like it would be much more simple, doesn’t it? Not exactly. Because Democratic Allocation Rules call for proportionality, this comes with some pretty intense mathematics. There are 4,783 total delegates, 2,383 of these are needed to win the nomination. Again, let’s use Ohio as an example: Ohio Base Delegates = 124
Determining the # of Total State Delegates:
- Base Delegates X .75 = District Delegates
- Base Delegates X .25 = At-Large Delegates
- Base Delegates X .15 = Pledged Delegates
- 124 x .75 = 93 District Delegates
- 124 x .25 = 31 At-Large Delegates
- 124 x .15 = 19 Pledged PLEO’s
- + 17 Superdelegates (will vary by state)
- = 160 Total Ohio Delegates
Similar to the Republican Proportional Rules, every state on the Democratic side has a 15% minimum threshold, to receive votes, candidates much have at least 15% of the votes. Democratic Rules call for the delegates to be proportional at the Congressional District level, At-Large Level, and the Pledged PLEO level.
Hopefully this breakdown will help you understand how the delegate allocation works in the Primary 2016 Election. Thank you so much for reading!
Lina Marie
Love, Lina Marie 