Why an open convention is the perfect moment for American democracy
For the first time since 1968, one of the main political parties could hold a convention to choose their nominee. When this took place in Chicago, it ended up being a tragic moment in political history as riots broke out and hundreds of police and anti-war protesters were injured, with one death. Fifty-four years later, we can avoid the same kind of chaos and perform an ideal form of democracy.
To summarize an open convention, all 4,672 delegates from every state, commonwealth, territory, and district meet in Chicago to negotiate who will become the Democratic nominee for November’s presidential election. Hopeful candidates give speeches to the convention but can also meet delegates face to face. This is not an election. No money is needed for a massive campaign. Ideally, delegates have their phones in airplane mode, so the media is kept at arm’s length and social media influences are minimized. A diverse gathering of this magnitude is a rare event in America.
The Beltway Caucus doesn’t want this. Biden’s insiders are already backing Kamala Harris. The Clintons have also announced their support for the vice president. Politicians, but more importantly the staffers, do not want an open convention. They would rather the nomination simply transition to someone within their network. A Harris nomination, and maybe the presidency, means those staffers can maintain their jobs and political influence. Other influence brokers want this as well. Powerful institutions, members of the media, donors, lobbyists, and other interests of DC would prefer the status quo instead of building a new relationship with a new president.
This influence by the Beltway Caucus works well in the primaries. Running a presidential primary campaign requires a lot of money, media influence, and lots of connections from the powers to be. Outside of the front-loaded states of Iowa and New Hampshire, and more recently South Carolina and Nevada, Democratic voters in the rest of the country have zero influence. And in 2024, with Biden as the incumbent, this is even more the case.
The Beltway Caucus prefers concentrated power that can use money and media to exert influence. This isn’t democratic.
With an open convention, everything changes. Every delegate in attendance is on level ground with everyone else. There is no election and thus no campaign to donate to. Money is out of the picture.
The media is still at play but with so many delegates and the atmosphere of the convention being an in-person real-time event, their influence is mitigated. Presumably, everyone will talk to each other in real life; however, it wouldn’t be shocking if everyone is glued to their smartphones.
These aren’t the smoke-filled rooms of the past. In the era of brokered conventions, party bosses each controlled hundreds of votes. A small room of bosses could collectively wield a majority vote. This convention could be different as party bosses are no more. Each delegate controls their own vote to cast as they see fit.
And one important note. Putin can’t attend. If delegates practice some basic phone discipline, internet trolls and bots may be kept at bay. Putin and the FSB, internet trolls, and who knows what other chicanery-minded influencers, are not able to attend. Primaries and elections require months of build-up, and the broader public leaving the process open to manipulation by the internet. A convention is an in-person event over a few days.
“The Beltway Caucus prefers concentrated power that can use money and media to exert influence. This isn’t democratic.”
In 1968, the chaos of the brokered convention system came to a violent end. In the aftermath, our current primary system came to be. It required each primary election to no longer represent the interests of each state, but rather a point system for the most popular candidates. The era of candidates needing money and the media and the blessing of the Beltway Caucus was born. Or in the case of the Republicans, extreme populism. Either way, the Democratic Party has the chance to correct the nomination process while also giving legitimacy to their candidate. The party elders should stay out of endorsing candidates and press for a decision by delegates. Concentrated and powerful actors shouldn’t control the nominee. Give the power of the nomination back to the people from across the country. It’s a great chance to make the convention democratic once again.
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Dustin Taylor is a political scientist and author of the book On the Framers’ Method: How the Electoral College and the Hamilton Method Can Defeat Populism and Tyranny. You can find more of his work at framersmethod.com
