SouthFlorida.com | Teen Link South Florida

This year's election has caused a substantial uprising in the democratic community.

You hear words like "superdelegate" and "electoral official" being thrown around constantly.

Many voters say they might as well not take part in the voting process at all because their vote doesn't really matter.

But those people aren't getting all the facts.

Should we not put our faith in a process that has been used for more than 200 years? After enough "practice," you'd think that we'd have filtered through the procedures that don't produce significant progress.

In the 1968 election, many electoral officials felt that changes needed to be made in the Democratic Party that would allow voters to have more of a say in the presidential process.

In 1982, the term "superdelegate" was coined.

Superdelegate refers to a party leader or an elected public official chosen as an uncommitted delegate to the Democratic Party. It should be noted that such titles exist in the Republican Party, but not by this name.

A superdelegate could be a state governor or lawmaker, past president or other elected official. Part of a superdelegate's job is to represent the people's ideas.

In an interview with the Associated Press, U.S. Rep. David Scott of Georgia said he became an Obama advocate after 80 percent of his district voted for the candidate. "You've got to represent the wishes of your constituency," he said.

If you think about it, it clicks. As citizens, we are fortunate enough to have a say in the political process.

Our politicians, however, are pros. They're chosen to represent us, to make our voices known.

If it weren't for superdelegates, state representatives, the Electoral College — all of them — our voices wouldn't get the attention they deserve.

Politics is a dirty business. Let's leave it to the experts.