An amendment has been made to completely eliminate the influence of superdelegates at the Maine Democratic Party’s statewide convention this week. Rep. Diane Russell, who introduced the amendment, said that once it passed the crowd erupted into chants of “Bernie! Bernie!,” in celebration. USuncut.com reports: “I never expected this kind of response from the amendment,” Russell said in a phone interview. “I’m suddenly seen as the hero of the convention.” The adoption of the amendment means that Maine’s superdelegate votes will now be allocated proportionally according to the overall popular vote, rather than each superdelegate having complete autonomy. Currently, three of Maine’s five superdelegates are supporting Hillary Clinton, with one supporting Bernie Sanders and one who remains uncommitted to either candidate. Under the new rules, Sanders, who won the Maine caucus with 64 percent of the vote, would have three superdelegates to Clinton’s two. Another component of the amendment is that the Maine Democratic Party will now petition its Democratic National Committee members to move to get rid of the superdelegate system altogether, at the national level. The amendment is nonbinding for the 2016 election, but will take full effect in the 2020 election and every election thereafter. “There was [...]