Sanders Criticizes California for Denying Independent Voters the Right to Vote (??)

[TomCADem]

We really need to change the Democratic primary rules to prevent candidates from banking on non-Democrats to steal the Democratic nomination. This is not the general election. This is contest to determine who Democrats choose to run as their nominee for President. Yet, Bernie's strategy is to encourage non-Democrats to vote in the Democratic party and to that end he repeatedly attacks the Democratic party.

This is stupid, because it encourages attacks Democratic as well as stunts by Republicans to try to impact the who Democrats choose in the primaries. Yes, there will be some folks who will change parties just to vote and try to effect the other parties' nomination, but this comes at the cost of forgoing a chance to vote in other ballot contests.

https://ivn.us/posts/sanders-criticizes-california-for-denying-independent-voters-right-to-vote

All the momentum in the 2020 Democratic presidential race appears to be behind US Senator Bernie Sanders after another victory in Nevada over the weekend. Now, headed into the most consequential Super Tuesday in modern history, Sanders may be on track to secure the Democratic nomination early.

Super Tuesday, however, will also highlight the deep systemic problems in our electoral process -- problems that leave millions of voters disenfranchised and voiceless. Here is what you need to know just days before the biggest primary election day (literally) in the 2020 presidential election cycle.

Super Tuesday is always considered the most consequential primary day during a presidential election cycle due to the large number of delegates that are up for grabs. However, the most significant change in 2020 is the addition of California. Over a third of the 1,341 delegates at stake on Tuesday, March 3, will be awarded in the Golden State -- meaning a momentous sweep could help all but seal the Democratic nomination for Bernie Sanders, or any other candidate who might dominate the delegate count.

The California primary, however, was plagued by widespread (and well-documented) voter confusion in 2016 due to the state’s semi-closed primary rules. To quickly recap, semi-closed primary rules mean the parties can decide if independent voters (registered No Party Preference, or NPP, in California) can request a crossover ballot for their party. It also means a voter registered with a party cannot vote in another party’s primary.

[George II]

1. So who is left that he HASN'T criticized?

[Jose Garcia]

4. Fidel Castro

[blue-wave]

8. Ha! So True!!

[emmaverybo]

18. LOL!

[Cha]

19. SNAP

[Happy Hoosier]

21. Mic Drop.... NT

[gollygee]

28. Ha!

[LakeArenal]

31. Good one.

[33taw]

2. Are they allowed to change party affiliation so that can vote in the democratic primary?

[Fresh_Start]

6. NPP can get a democratic crossover ballot, no change required

and same day change of party registration allowed at the polling station.

[still_one]

52. Exactly, and spewing misinformation and falsehoods about denying independents from voting in the

Democratic primary is disgraceful

Thanks for spelling things out here in California

[Fresh_Start]

3. idiotic...NPP can vote for democratic candidates

anyone can change their party registration at the voting station and vote immediately for the party of their choice.

[33taw]

10. I am not in favor of switching parties the day of the primary, but this issue seems a non-issue.

[Fresh_Start]

11. it is another BS complaint about a problem that doesn't exist

but hey the liberal state of california is out to get bernie just because

[Blue_true]

23. I think that he is setting up a strawhorse in case things don't go well for him in Cali.

A DUER posted a tweet that said the majority of voters were still holding their ballots, if that is true that is not good news for Bernie.

[Blue_true]

22. The switch only covers NPP and only the Democratic Party allows it of the two majors. nt

[Fresh_Start]

26. you can change party registration on election day and get the other party ballot

if you want.

It is literally a 2 minute form to do so.

So there is really no obstacle.

[Fresh_Start]

49. anyone can change party registration at the polling station in california

NPP can select a democratic crossover ballot without changing registration

[Blue_true]

50. Someone pointed that out to me. Thanks. nt

[TomCADem]

47. The Law Should Change. People Do Not Normally Change Their Party...

...from election to election, because it is a hassle and it also means that you are foregoing the chance to vote on any other party primaries just to mess with the other party's nomination.

If someone wants to be a Democrat, then great, welcome to the party. However, when it comes to nominating the Democratic party's nominee, Democrats should be the ones making the call.

[nini]

5. Democrats get to choose the democratic candidate in California

Of course that bothers him

[blue-wave]

7. He's at it again

He's attacking the Democratic Party. Bernie, you and your people agreed to the rules when you decided to run again. You knew the rules well ahead of time. Stop trying to change everything in the middle of the game to benefit only you. That is the signature sign of a narcissist.

Stop the crying please!!

[padah513]

9. He should have come to Selma

[sheshe2]

14. +1000000000000000000000

On the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” look back at the assault on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, that led to the Voting Rights Act.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287606584

Thank you, padah.

[Blue_true]

24. In particular since John Lewis may not live to the next anniversary.

This one was special in many ways, everyone but Bernie and Gabbard saw that.

[sheshe2]

35. He looked good, yet cancer is ugly.

The fact he was not there is tone deaf.

[Tweedy]

12. I don't understand

Independents can vote in the Democratic Party primary here in California

About what is Senator Sanders complaining?

FYI Our system is ours. Hands off. 😉

[Fresh_Start]

13. Bernie must be a victim in order to incite his supporters

if he didn't have enemies then he wouldn't have anything to talk about

[Blue_true]

25. Boom. nt

[PatSeg]

29. He thrives on anger and righteous indignation

Not terribly presidential!

[Tweedy]

37. That is a bit harsh?

We've been listening to Breakfast with Bernie for years. He does seem to have difficulty recognizing allies, i will give you that.

Yet, Senator Sanders sees our country's problems with acuity. That is his feature attraction imho. Where he goes awry is blaming things equally on the democrats and republicans. That is his bug and his major error.

Think about the cornhusker kickback here. People went nuts about it.

What crime did Senator Nelson commit? The crime of securing federal funds for Nebraska, in the interests of his constituents.

Meanwhile, the incompetent in chief and all of his incompetent minions have both hands in our treasury in the interests of themselves.

And the democrats boot all accused to the curb sometimes too fast; whereas the republicans hide dirt and embrace the scoundrel unless the public turns on them.

Bernie Sanders would do himself a world of good by ditching false equivalency. His heart, though, is in the right place. There is vanity in his run, but it is incidental to his good character even though it still may be toxic.

[Fresh_Start]

38. No, I don't think it is too harsh.

I think it is a specific strategy by the Sanders campaign.
Populists have to have a 'them' for their supporters to hate.

They are anti-elite (whatever the hell that is).
They are anti-the democratic establishment (whatever the hell that is)
They are anti-centrist voters (whatever the hell that is)
They are anti-press unless the press is fawning.
Today they are anti-california's voting system which BTW has 4 different processes in place to assure that voters can get the right ballot to vote.

[Tweedy]

39. Am in the state

I know the complaint is likely silly.

There are many populists for whom we should all still be thanking our lucky stars. FDR was a populist.

And FDR welcomed "their hate."

Bernie's problem is not that he has popular appeal. It is that he draws his circle too tightly, throwing out possible allies and alienating folks.

Am weary of the people's popular opinions being somehow odious. Am equally wearing of those who do care about u.s fighting each other.

United we stand. Think Senator Sanders and his most noxiously false equivalent pushing supporters need to look deep inside and ask if their conduct is enabling this president.

And if so, what is their plan b? We don't have time to wait for purity to rain down upon us. The Earth will have long since burned us off her before that day dawns.

[Fresh_Start]

41. Thank you

I'm not against a progressive agenda. I'm probably further left than Sanders but I can't stand all the hate and anger coming from that team.

Popular ideas by themselves are not populism, it is the 'we the people' against the 'them' that makes it populism.

[Tweedy]

42. Don't disagree with most of that

Although FDR surely used us vs. them rhetoric entirely appropriately imho

The senator from Vermont does target folks who might otherwise be allies. That is bonkers no matter what label is attached to it.

Just saw my favorite lawn sign in my community--

"ANY FUNCTIONING ADULT 2020!"

I voted for, and would prefer Senator Warren. Yet, that lawn sign has me pegged regarding our eventual nominee.

[Fresh_Start]

44. there is no moral choice other than to vote for the eventual nominee

but I will have to control a gag reflex if it is Sanders or Bloomberg

[Fresh_Start]

46. "I welcome their hatred" not as words to live by, but as a cautionary tale of progressive

Rather, Roosevelt’s turn toward vilification at the close of the 1936 campaign marked the beginning of the end of the New Deal period, when excessive hubris and a diminished appetite for compromise led him to politically disastrous decisions that drove the conservative wing of the Democratic Party into the arms of obstructionist Republicans. Sanders and Warren should look to “I welcome their hatred” not as words to live by, but as a cautionary tale of progressive overreachhttps://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/11/01/elizabeth-warren-bernie-sanders-fdr-229893

[Tweedy]

54. Easy to say today

At the time, most of the country agreed with him.

Obviously folks like former treasury secretary Mellon did not. Yet, what an interesting critter he is, with his sham divestiture (sound familiar? It should, although Mellon was a much sharper tack than our unindicted co-conspirator) and tendency to benefit himself and his businesses with his government decisions, he would fit right in to our current executive branch.

The court packing plan and especially Justice Brandeis' opposition to same caused FDR a lot more heartache than his rhetoric. We also should not forget that the democratic machines of the time (thank goodness for reform and their demise!) were always less liberal than FDR.

[NYMinute]

48. Right on!

[Retrograde]

15. Same process as 2016

and 2012 and 2008 and - well, this whole century. And it's been explained over and over but somehow Bernie supporters just can't seem to be able to grasp it. I'm actually surprised that there hasn't been more complaining about in this forum this year. The process boils down to election officials aren't psychic and can not guess which ballot you want if you're NPP, the voters' guide contains instructions on how to get a replacement if you got the generic ballot, and in my county at least all NPP voters got a physical mailing before Thanksgiving explaining this again and asking them to send back their preference, postage paid.

[Fresh_Start]

17. same here...

and if you ignored it, you had another chance when the VBM ballot arrived..you could contact your county election board and request a different ballot....and if you are still not competent enough to pick a ballot, you have another chance on election day at your polling station.

[LisaM]

16. Another day, another criticism of Democrats.

Tomorrow it will be something new.

[Blue_true]

20. Someone answered one of my posts, the California Democratic Party is allowing NPP

voters to pull a democratic presidential ballot. Don't really understand what Bernie is complaining about. Does he want the primary FULLY open so that republicans can ratfuck us?

[Fresh_Start]

27. republicans can still meddle since all they need to do is fill out a form

that they want to change party registration...on the day of election at the polling station.

[Blue_true]

32. Wow, that is insane. nt

[PupCamo]

30. The NPP voter has to ASK for a Democratic ballot

the poll workers aren't supposed to relay this information to the voter if they don't ask

it's called being an informed voter

and anyway, there were problems with NPP voters in 2016 in Wisconsin. A lot of the Bernie voters didn't vote for some of the down ballot races and a good Democratic candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court lost because of that

[Demsrule86]

33. I assume he wants operation chaos or GOP voters?

[honest.abe]

34. Bernie trying to gin up anger against the Democratic party once again.

2016 redux.

[mr_lebowski]

36. Interestingly the article as a whole seems quite supportive of Bernie's position ... (nt)

[LizBeth]

40. It is a DEMOCRATIC primary. Deal.

[Blue_Tires]

43. Agreed... St. Bern needs to quit bitching about state primary rules

or just run as an independent...

[RandySF]

51. Here we go again.

[TomCADem]

53. Super Tuesday Showed That Independents, Russians ...

...and Republicans crossing over were not going to save Bernie from Democratic voters and the Democratic base.

Rich old racist misogynistic white guys like Joe Rogan and Michael Moore are not the Democratic base.