How the McGovern-Fraser Commission Revolutionized the Democratic Party’s Delegate Selection Process

How did the McGovern-Fraser Commission make the delegate selection process of the Democratic Party more representative and open to input from the public?

by requiring delegate selection procedures to be open to all party members

The McGovern-Fraser Commission was established in response to the Democratic National Convention of 1968, which was highly controversial and marked by protests and violence both inside and outside the convention hall. The commission was tasked with studying the delegate selection process for the Democratic Party and making recommendations to make the process more representative, open, and inclusive.

The commission made several key recommendations that fundamentally changed the delegate selection process for the Democratic Party. These recommendations included:

– Proportional representation: The commission recommended that delegates be selected in proportion to the votes received by each candidate in the primaries and caucuses. This meant that candidates who received more votes would receive more delegates, making the process more representative of the will of the voters.

– Open primaries: The commission recommended that states open up their primaries to allow more voters to participate, regardless of their political affiliation. This meant that voters who were not registered with a particular party could still participate in the primary and have a say in who the party’s nominee would be.

– Transparency: The commission recommended that the process for selecting delegates be made more transparent, with clear rules and procedures that were publicly available. This would make it easier for voters to understand how the process worked and have confidence that it was fair and open.

– Diversity: The commission recommended that the delegate selection process be made more diverse, with more representation from women, minorities, young people, and other groups that had been traditionally underrepresented in the political process.

Overall, the McGovern-Fraser Commission’s recommendations had a significant impact on the delegate selection process for the Democratic Party, making it more democratic, representative, and open to input from the public. It helped to make the party more inclusive and responsive to the needs and concerns of a wider range of voters, and helped to restore confidence in the political process at a time of great unrest and turmoil in the United States.

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