Two Democrats in Florida have filed a lawsuit to get Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) off the primary ballot, claiming that since he identifies as an Independent in the Senate, he is not really a Democrat and therefore should not be allowed on the ballot.
The two men suing, veterans George Brown and Frank Bach, filed their lawsuit in Leon County, asking a court to intervene in the Democratic primary, The Associated Press reported. Sanders has emerged as the Democratic front-runner after wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, where he picked up 45 delegates so far, nearly twice as many as his closes challenger, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
“Defendant Sanders is clearly an Independent, and is clearly not a Democrat, by his own definitions. His current ‘day job’ is as a United States Senator and he has consistently, proudly asserted his service in that role as Independent,” Brown and Bach wrote in their lawsuit.
Brown, 80, is a former member of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, the AP reported, and said, “In our political climate today, Democrats need to have a voice.”
Sanders, according to 82-year-old Bach, is “eliminating my vote as a Democrat.”
“I’m very upset with the president we have right now,” added Bach, a Korean War veteran.
As the Press reported, Florida’s state Democratic Party voted unanimously to allow Sanders on the primary ballot. The veterans’ lawsuit contends that since Florida’s primary is closed – meaning people have to register for a party in order to vote in that party’s primary – Sanders should be disqualified, since he identifies as an Independent.
Sanders’ spokesperson Kolby Lee dismissed the lawsuit to the Press.
“We’re aware of the spurious complaint and it will not affect us. Bernie will be on the ballot in Florida,”‘ Lee said.
Juan Peñalosa, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party, called the lawsuit “ridiculous.”
“Votes cast for the Senator are valid and must be counted,” he added.
Brown and Bach named the FDP as a defendant in their lawsuit. The other named defendants are Sanders, the national Democratic Party, and Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, a Republican.
Sanders caucuses with Democrats, and votes with the party most of the time, even as he maintains his status as an Independent. He doesn’t always refer to himself as an Independent, however, sometimes describing himself as a socialist or democratic socialist. He is registered as a Democrat with the Federal Election Commission.
Sanders has eclipsed former Vice President Joe Biden, who was previously seen as the inevitable Democratic candidate. Sanders is now polling more than 10 points ahead of Biden on Real Clear Politics’ polling average. Biden appears ready to win the South Carolina and Florida primaries, but Sanders has a 2-to-1 lead in California. As far as delegates go so far, Biden is in third place, having earned 15 delegates from his fourth-place showing in Iowa and second-place showing in Nevada. If Biden doesn’t do better than Sanders on Super Tuesday, his campaign will have a difficult decision to make. Unless, of course, superdelegates come in to bail out the Democratic Party.
The Florida primary is on March 17.