Featured Participatory Project: Tracking the Superdelegates in the Democratic Primary

Citizen journalism logoAs Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama run neck-and-neck in the Democratic primary, a "brokered" convention is possible where the Democratic delegates cut deals and shift sides to give one candidate the threshold they need to gain the party's nomination. About 1/4 of the delegates who will head to Denver in August are so-called "superdelegates" whose voting status comes from their party or elected positions and who are not bound by the results of the primary elections or caucuses in their home states.

Who are these "superdelegates" and which candidate are they committed to? Will they go along with the voters from their state or go their own way? We've teamed up with the folks at Democratic Convention Watch, OpenLeft and LiteraryOutpost to engage citizens like you in tracking down the answers in the new Superdelegate Transparency Project on Congresspedia. There you'll find a variety of ways to help bring transparency to this profoundly important but little-understood process, all with the helpful support of the staff editors if you should require it. Because democracy requires vigilance and accountability.