It used to be that the candidate was simply chosen by the party, with no open election at all.<p>Delegates are used to distribute influence, which is by party membership rather than population or simple voter representation.  Super-delegates were introduced after the first two Democratic nominees picked by a purely popular process were a disaster (McGovern, who won only two states, and Carter, who was a wonderful person and a terrible president who paved the way for Reagan.)<p>Sanders supporters are correct that superdelegates exist to potentially keep people like him from getting nominated.  They are wrong that that is a bad thing.  When Obama ran, his ability to win over superdelegates was a strong sign of his capabilities to bring together the party and win in the general.  If Sanders can&#x27;t do that, he&#x27;s not going to be effective in office even if he could get there.