Biden’s name is not on the New Hampshire ballot… Encouraging short-term voting
Ahead of the Democratic Party’s New Hampshire presidential primary, which will be held without current President Joe Biden, some supporters are conducting a ‘write your name’ campaign.
According to the Washington Post (WP) and USA Today on the 22nd (local time), a day before the New Hampshire Democratic Party primary, some grassroots campaign groups are in full swing encouraging short-term voting by writing down President Biden’s name.
New Hampshire is originally the place where the first primary (primary election) of both parties is held following the Iowa caucuses (party member vote). Since it is a method in which the general public can participate, it has been considered a true weathervane to gauge the presidential race.
Since 1968, the final candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination has finished first or second in New Hampshire. However, President Biden suffered the humiliation of finishing in 5th place with 8.4% of the votes here during the 2020 presidential election.
At the time, in New Hampshire, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders took first place with 25.7% of the votes, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren also ranked 2nd to 4th, ahead of President Biden.
President Biden later won a landslide victory (48.6%) in South Carolina, the second primary primary, and was evaluated as having finally established himself as a stable leading candidate ahead of ‘Super Tuesday’ in March.
Accordingly, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) reorganized the primary schedule last year and changed South Carolina to the first primary. This is a reflection of the sense of crisis that the slump of 2020 should not be repeated in the 2024 primary process.
In the same context, the Iowa caucuses, where President Biden’s performance was poor (4th place), were also postponed to Super Tuesday (March 5th) in this year’s presidential election schedule. However, in New Hampshire, there was strong opposition to the DNC’s push to change the date.
In addition, New Hampshire state law protects the tradition of holding the first two-party primary for a presidential election in that state. Ultimately, after a series of controversies, New Hampshire held its first primary without President Biden registering.
At the time this decision was made, the current independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy was running as the Democratic candidate. Accordingly, the sense of crisis that the top candidate position should not be given to someone other than President Biden, even if it is symbolic, has led to the encouragement of short-term voting since last year.
Currently, a total of 21 names are listed on the Democratic Party’s New Hampshire primary ballot, without President Biden. Candidate Kennedy, who was an independent candidate, was not included, and Representative Dean Phillips is considered the only notable candidate.
According to reports, on the ballot paper, in addition to the column where the candidate is written, there is a column that says ‘short-term vote (write-in)’, and if participants select this and write President Biden’s name along with his last name, voting will be completed.
USA Today predicted President Biden’s victory in the New Hampshire primary with candidate Kennedy absent as an independent candidate. Unlike the 2020 presidential election, there is no candidate capable of competing against President Biden.
In relation to this, according to a recent opinion poll conducted by USA Today, Suffolk University, and the Boston Globe, 64% of active Democratic voters responded that they would support President Biden in the New Hampshire primary.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.