Can Bernie Sanders run as a Democrat in New Hampshire?

[Eugene]

Source: CBS News

By Taeler De Haes CBS News June 19, 2015, 6:11 PM

Can Bernie Sanders run as a Democrat in New Hampshire?

Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders may be polling second to Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, but it's not clear voters there will get to see his name on the ballot next to hers.

Charles Bass, a former Republican congressman from the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, knows his way around the state's presidential election laws - he helped write them - and he harbors doubts about Sanders' eligibility for the Democratic primary ballot. In a Washington Post op-ed published Thursday, he declared,"Sanders is not a Democrat, has not been elected as a Democrat, has never served as a Democrat and cannot plausibly claim, at least in New Hampshire, to be a Democrat."

While Sanders caucuses with Democrats in the Senate, the independent senator may have trouble qualifying for the Democratic ballot in New Hampshire.

"State law makes clear that candidates must be registered members of the party on whose ballot line they wish to appear," Bass explained. "One might ask why the good senator can't simply change his registration in his home state from socialist or independent to Democrat. The answer is that Vermont doesn't have a party registration system, so he can't."

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Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-bernie-sanders-have-trouble-getting-on-the-new-hampshire-ballot/

[still_one]

1. WTF do we need an asshole republican telling us who is a Democratic. First of all, Bernie is a

Socialist DEMOCRAT. Which part of Democrat does this jerk not understand

Pretty soon the media will be asking rebukes about Democratic positions, instead of asking the Democrats directly

Repugs have one purpose, to divide the Democratic party

[djean111]

2. Guess Bernie's popularity has not gone unnoticed.

I guess if he is not on the Florida ballot, I will be writing his name in. Primary and general. Done with the lesser stuff.

[still_one]

3. This jackass is trying to divide the Democrats

[arcane1]

4. He's basically saying nobody from Vermont can run for president in NH?

That seems odd.

[KamaAina]

6. Howard Dean could not be reached for comment.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

7. Howard Dean got 26% of New Hampshire in 2004, and Dean is from Vermont

I'd like to know more about this too, because it doesn't make sense to me.

[Cali_Democrat]

9. Help me out here

How come Patrick Leahy identifies as a Dem?

He's from Vermont.

[arcane1]

10. I have no idea how all of this works n/t

[Jumpin Jack Flash]

11. Both Dean and Leahy are members of the Vermont Democratic Party

Sanders is not, but VDP has given up trying to challenge Sanders (they have attempted it many times) and now defer to him as he does caucus with the Democratic Party.

[Luminous Animal]

22. The VDP thanked Bernie for all support he has given them .

https://www.facebook.com/vtdems/posts/10153327843708578

Congratulations to Sen. Bernie Sanders! We are grateful for your many years of support of the VDP and welcome you to our national party's primary!

For many years, they've listed Bernie has one of their own in the house and the senate.

Twice, knowing he would decline the nomination, the VDP ran him as a Democratic candidate in the Senate primary in order to clear the field for him of any Democratic challengers.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/07/13/party_shuns_vermont_democrats_in_race/?page=full

Ian Carleton, the chairman of the Vermont Democratic Party, said the party's efforts to secure the nomination for Sanders is a concession to political reality: Polls indicate that Sanders is so popular in Vermont that no Democrat has a real chance of beating him.

Carleton added that Sanders has largely supported Democratic priorities and was the only candidate to ask for the state party committee's endorsement.

``Bernie Sanders has by far the best chance of winning, and would work closely with and would respect Democratic leadership in Washington," Carleton said. ``Anyone who takes a practical look at Vermont politics will say that this is the best thing to do for the greater good here."

If Sanders wins the Democratic nomination but declines it, he will go head-to-head with the Republican candidate. Since the Democrats technically won't have a candidate on the ballot, Sanders won't have to contend with a third candidate who could siphon votes away from him. Sanders, a self- described ``democratic socialist," has typically voted with Democrats during his eight terms as Vermont's sole House member.

Democrats have had a long, complicated relationship with Sanders, based largely on mutual self-interest and the wide swath of issues on which they agree. Sanders has often mocked Democrats for taking stands he considers too moderate, yet he typically votes with them. Sanders gets his committee assignments and seniority privileges based on his affiliation with the House Democratic caucus.

[Go Vols]

5. lol

[cali]

8. So all those republicans who have been on the ballot in NH over the years,

from states where there is no party registration, shouldn't have been on the ballot? And you would think that ol' Charlie would know that Bernie can't change his registration to Dem as there is no registration by party in VT.

[daleanime]

12. +1

But I'm sure it will now become a state to state battle, certain people must be getting nervous.

[bluestateguy]

13. I'm all for Hillary, and I think he should be on the ballot

And it would go a long way for Hillary to openly advocate for his inclusion on the ballot.

[Motown_Johnny]

14. So nobody from Vermont can ever run on any primary ticket in NH?

That will never hold up in court.

It looks like that (R) is worried.

[Agnosticsherbet]

15. The Constitution gives the states the right to set election laws

in each state.

For that reason, the US does not have a single election for the national government. We have 50 constitutionally coordinated elections.

Several weeks back the Democratic Party welcomed Senators Sanders, and at that time, they said Democratic Party rules did not require Senator Sanders to be a member of the Party. If he ran as a Democrat for President, and won delegates, he was in the running to be the Democratic nominee. At the time, Senator Sanders said he intended to run in each state. I look forward to hearing him address this issue.

The Democratic Party does not trump the rules for each state. I suspect there will be other states where he has this same problem.

[yeoman6987]

26. True

Virginia refused to let Santorum on the ballot in 2012. I forgot why but I am sure we were glad.

[1StrongBlackMan]

16. There is a really simple fix for this ...

join the DSCC ... No?

Otherwise, it comes off as, "What do you mean I can't play on this high school's team, just because I don't go to the school? ... I hang-out with all the players, and I know the school's fight song, plus some of them want me to play on the team."

Just sign on the line, Bernie.

[okasha]

24. This is a very simple solution.

Frankly, I can't imagine why he didn't sign up before he declared.

[1StrongBlackMan]

27. Because ....

I don't want tooooo! And, therefore, I shouldn't have toooo!

[okasha]

28. Well, yeah.

But besides that.......

[displacedtexan]

29. I used to see Green Party voters become furious when told they can't vote in closed Dem primaries.

You have to be a Dem to vote (or run) in some Dem primaries. not all states have these requirements, but some do.

[AJH032]

17. I'm having trouble understanding - what about Patrick Leahy?

He is the other Senator from Vermont and I believe there is a 'D' after his name. Could he run for president and be included in the NH Primary? I'm trying to understand if this is a Bernie Sanders issue or a Vermont issue. Maybe someone can clarify this for me?

[BainsBane]

19. Leahy is a Democrat

It's an issue of Sanders' not being a Democrat.

[Sancho]

18. Some of us anticipated this in earlier threads.

Since Bernie has never run, registered, or voted as a Democrat, in some states he will be ineligible to be on the primary ballot as a Democratic candidate.

Each state primary may be different, and I don't know, but some could still change rules before the election.

NH may be the first to say he may not be on the ballot as a Democrat.

[ucrdem]

21. If Bernie has never run, registered, or voted as a Democrat, he isn't one.

And if he's made no visible recent effort to become one, it's difficult to deny the logic of the NH election board. Also, Vermont records which party voters cast presidential primary ballots in, which raises the question, if Bernie hasn't been voting for Democrats, who has he been voting for?

There is no party registration in Vermont. All registered voters can vote in the primary election—but can only vote on one ballot. You will be given a ballot for each of the major parties. You mark one of the ballots and put the remaining unvoted ballots into a discard bin. Which ballot you chose to vote is private and not recorded (except during the presidential primary, where voters must publicly take one ballot or the other, and their choice is recorded on the entrance checklist).

https://www.sec.state.vt.us/elections/frequently-asked-questions/voter-registration.aspx

[Luminous Animal]

23. The Vermont Democratic Party has twice run him as a Democratic candidate in the Senate primary races

He won the Democratic nomination both times.

He can't register as a Democrat Vermont does not do voter registration by party.

[okasha]

25. If I understand correctly,

Vermont Democrats nominated him, but he declined the nomination and ran as an independent. He may be a democrat, but he's not a Democrat.