Hillary Clinton
Related: About this forumHillary took questions
Hillary just took questions from media and she did great!
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)She was so confident and clear. I am so excited!
Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)Gothmog
(145,556 posts)FloridaBlues
(4,008 posts)Since Sanders is not a registered democrat how will he be on the dem primary ballot since I believe he's registered independent
Just curious?
Btw we started a Hillary group here in sw Florida if anyone interested in joining.
Dr Hobbitstein
(6,568 posts)He's a self-proclaimed Independent. VT doesn't have voter affiliation. In states that require he declare a party, he will of course fill out the required forms. It hasn't happened yet because the primaries aren't for another 8 months. Plenty of time for him to register in every state.
With that said, I'm a Hillary supporter. I'm just sick of seeing this brought up over and over. It's a non-issue.
murielm99
(30,761 posts)Someone will have to look at the requirements for getting on the primary ballot in each state. Usually, the application has to be made by a certain date. Petitions have to be circulated and enough signatures have to be acquired. States and state parties make the rules. They can differ from state to state. States elect delegates who then go to the convention.
Will the state parties, who support qualified DEMOCRATS, want Bernie on their ballots? Who the hell will be his delegates in states like mine? If he has registered with the FEC as one thing (Independent), how will we then become another (Democrat) in every state?
All of this is a lot of work. Does Bernie have the organization? Are his supporters savvy enough to do this, or are they all just pie-in-the-sky idealists? I saw a post on the front page about how Bernie supporters should go to county Democratic meetings and convince everyone to support Bernie. They said if they could not convince the county party members, then they should just send more people until they got an endorsement. They clearly have no idea how the county committees work, or what they do. They don't endorse before the primary. A lot of what they do is routine boring work, like paying bills, discussing correspondence, announcing events and fundraisers, etc. Yes, they do listen to candidates and their representatives, often only when those people get themselves on the agenda first. But individual members, voting members or not, are free to make their own choice.
These people have a lot to learn. It will be interesting.
George II
(67,782 posts)Just because Vermont doesn't require party affiliations for people to vote in primaries, many states DO require it. Some states changed their primary rules because they found members of one party, especially if their party candidate was a shoo-in, flocking to the polls and voting for the "underdog" in the other party's primary. I don't know how many states still allow crossing party lines in primaries, but I wouldn't be surprised if republicans do just that and turn out for Sanders.
Also, as you point out, being a Senator he most likely had to register with the FEC, and declare his affiliation. I don't know the specifics of FEC rules, but he probably will have to declare as a Democrat in order to run as a Democrat for Federal office (even if only in a primary)
Now, the thing that really irks me about him, and I agree with many of his positions, is that for decades he felt the Democratic Party wasn't good enough for him - he didn't want to be a member. And even though he caucuses with Democrats, up until a few weeks ago it appeared that joining the Democratic Party was beneath him. But, now that he suddenly wants to run for President he "wants" to be a Democrat? People who have been loyal and dedicated Democrats for decades are also running for President, why should an "opportunist" get our support just because he finally decided to declare a party affiliation.
Another thing - we see it touted all over this site that "he hasn't changed his positions in 40 years" as though that's a positive quality. Maybe they should be asked about him changing his position on his affiliation?
As for the mechanics of getting on the ballot, each state is different. But in just about every state he's going to have to get a specified number of signatures in order to get on the ballot - signatures from Democrats, just just anyone off the street. Will they all be qualified? Every election cycle we hear about potential candidates being blocked from being on the ballot for a number of reasons - invalid signatures, failure to meet the specific deadlines, etc. I would not be surprised if we hear in some states that he can't appear on the ballot.
Finally, again, I like most of what he has to say and if (a long shot) he becomes the Democratic nominee, I'll vote for him. But as a Democrat, I resent him "using" my party as a vehicle for exposure and a route to MY party's nomination.
FloridaBlues
(4,008 posts)It will be interesting how that plays in different states .