Jayne Mazzotti wasa superdelegate to the2016 Democratic National Convention fromIllinois.^[1] Mazzotti was one of 27 superdelegates from Illinois. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus to support a specific presidential candidate. Mazzotti supportedHillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.^[2] Clinton formally won the Democratic nomination for president onJuly 26, 2016.^[3]

What is a superdelegate?

See also:Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

Superdelegates in 2016 were automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike regular delegates, they were not elected to this position. Also unlike regular delegates, they were not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate, and they were not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. In 2016, superdelegates included members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.^[4]

Illinois primary results

See also:Presidential election in Illinois, 2016

Hillary Clinton won the Illinois Democratic primary election, beatingBernie Sanders by less than two percentage points. Clinton carried Cook County, where the city ofChicago is located, 54 to 46 percent. African American voters made up 28 percent of the Democratic electorate in Illinois, according to exit poll data. Clinton won African Americans 70 to 30 percent over Sanders.^[5]

Illinois Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Hillary Clinton	50.6%	1,039,555	79
Bernie Sanders	48.6%	999,494	77
Willie Wilson	0.3%	6,565	0
Martin O'Malley	0.3%	6,197	0
Larry Cohen	0.1%	2,407	0
Roque De La Fuente	0.1%	1,802	0
David Formhals	0%	25	0
Brian O'Neill	0%	2	0
Totals		2,056,047	156
Source:The New York Times andIllinois State Board of Elections

Delegate allocation

See also:2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Illinois had 183 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 156 werepledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state'spledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.^[6][7]

Twenty-seven party leaders and elected officials served asunpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.^[6][8]

See also

• Democratic National Convention, 2016
• 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules
• Presidential election, 2016
• Presidential candidates, 2016
• Presidential election in Illinois, 2016

Footnotes

v • e 2016 Conventions Overviews Democratic National Convention, 2016 •Republican National Convention, 2016 •Green Party National Convention, 2016 •Libertarian National Convention, 2016 •Brokered conventions •State election law and delegates to national conventions Republican Party Republican National Convention rules, 1996 •Republican National Convention rules, 2000 •Republican National Convention rules, 2012 •Republican delegate rules by state, 2016 •Rule 12 •Rule 16Rule 40 •RNC Rules Committee •RNC Standing Committee on Rules •Republican Platform and Platform Committee Democratic Party Democratic Platform and Platform Committees •Standing Committee on Rules •Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention Presidential election 2016 presidential election •2016 presidential candidates •2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules •Ballotpedia's battleground poll