Why won't President Joe Biden be on New Hampshire primary election ballots in 2024?

Concord, New Hampshire - President Joe Biden has announced that he will not be included on primary election ballots in the state of New Hampshire next year – but why is that the case?

President Joe Biden will not be on primary election ballots in New Hampshire next year due to a conflict in rules with the Democratic National Convention.
President Joe Biden will not be on primary election ballots in New Hampshire next year due to a conflict in rules with the Democratic National Convention.  © MARK MAKELA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

According to CBS News, the Biden campaign sent out a letter on Tuesday to alert New Hampshire voters of the news, explaining that the president "is obligated as a Democratic candidate for President to comply with the Delegate Selection Rules for the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC)."

Earlier this year, Biden backed a plan approved by the DNC that would make South Carolina the first state to hold a primary in the 2024 election, as well as be the first state to award delegates for the national convention next summer, which officially chooses the party's nominee.

But New Hampshire state law requires the state to host the nation's first primaries. Thus, in a strange twist, they will still host the first elections, but "anyone who runs in the January Democratic primary won't be awarded delegates by the DNC," according to the report.

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While New Hampshire voters will be able to write in Biden as a vote, states that defy the DNC's schedule risk losing delegates during the national convention.

Despite this, Secretary of State David Scanlan vowed to still hold the nation's first primary, arguing that state law requires New Hampshire to do so.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez assured New Hampshire Democratic voters in a letter there was nothing to be worried about, as Biden "looks forward" to having his name on the general election ballot.

This signals the campaign's belief that, even without being on New Hampshire's primary ballot, Biden will still become the party's nominee.

Rodriguez vowed that they will "tirelessly campaign to earn every single vote in the Granite State next November."

Cover photo: MARK MAKELA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

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