The Latest: Dem leaders limit White House nomination role

CHICAGO (AP) – The Latest on Democrats and the role of party insiders known as superdelegates in picking a presidential nominee at conventions (all times local):

12:45 p.m.

It’s taken two years of sometimes ugly public fighting, but Democratic Party leaders have now acted to limit their own high-profile roles in choosing presidential nominees. The decision gives even more weight to the outcome of state primaries and caucuses.

The Democratic National Committee has overwhelmingly approved the changes at the party’s summer meeting in Chicago.

At issue are party insiders known as superdelegates. They’re the hundreds of DNC members, elected officials and party elders who attend presidential conventions as automatic delegates.

In 2020, that group won’t be able to vote on a contested first presidential ballot at the party convention. They would still have votes if the nomination takes multiple rounds of voting.

The changes come after two years of negotiations stemming from the bitter nominating fight in 2016 between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

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10:15 a.m.

Democrats are nearing a final decision on how much power party insiders should have in picking presidential nominees.

At issue is a Democratic National Committee proposal that would strip “superdelegates” of their presidential nominating votes at any contested convention in 2020.

That group includes the DNC members, elected officials and other party elders that make up about 15 percent of all Democratic convention delegates.

The party chairman, Tom Perez, says he’s confident the change will pass after two years of negotiations that spun out of the 2016 nominating fight between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

But the vote won’t come without one final public airing of disagreements from party leaders who don’t want to give up their status.