Pledged delegates are earned in the US presidential primary election, allocated differently by state and party. Committed delegates may not vote as pledged, creating the possibility of subverting the nomination process. Republican rules are stricter, and dropped-out candidates’ delegates may vote as they wish.
Pledged delegates are delegates earned by candidates in the primary election for the presidency of the United States. There are several ways to allocate delegates, which can depend on state rules, how primaries and caucuses are won, and how each district in a state votes. Both Republicans and Democrats have pledged delegates, but many Republicans have states with winner-takes-all decisions. Essentially, if you get a majority in that state, you get all of its delegates. Democrats often apportion delegates based on percentage of the vote.
In theory, committed delegates are committed to voting the way their district voted. They sign a pledge to vote as representatives of the people. However, there is a loophole, especially in the way Democrats are running their National Convention. A delegate busy on polling day does not have to cast their vote based on their commitment. There is no special monitoring of this: it is only assumed that the delegate will vote for the candidate to which he is committed.
This is an issue in a hotly contested presidential primary race, and there have been candidates who have suggested they will actively seek to try to subvert the supposedly fair voting process. The side that lost may win pledged delegates, and some may actually go against the vote they promised to support. Most are ethical and stick to their vote, but some can be swayed or deliberately deceive and vote against the candidate they represent.
It’s important to keep this in mind when evaluating how news outlets and candidates count pledged delegates before the actual primary vote. There is the possibility, although it is not much discussed, that the delegates vote as they like and do not elect the person who in theory has “won” the most delegates. While this has never occurred in a convention, there is a possibility that it could occur and thereby subvert the largely Democratic presidential candidate nomination process.
Republican rules are stricter on this and make delegates sign a statement of voter intent. Additionally, if the Democratic Party believes that a pledged delegate is misrepresenting its vote, it can unseat that specific delegate. Unfortunately, the intention may not be known until after all the votes at the convention have been counted.
Another question arises when primary candidates drop out of the presidential race. What happens to the pledged delegates that these candidates have won? In the Democratic Party, technically these delegates can vote however they want, although they are usually obligated to vote for the person with the majority of the delegates. They may, however, respect the wishes of the person they initially supported, even if those wishes are not representative of the popular vote.
Again, in the Republican Party, signing a voter’s declaration of intent tends to prevent voters from casting a vote against the candidate they promised to represent. This, in most cases, is the candidate recommended by the person who dropped out of the race. This recommendation usually goes to the front-line candidate to preserve party unity.
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