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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — From his run for mayor of Burlington to numerous campaigns for Congress, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has for more than three decades eschewed traditional party labels in his pursuit of political office, winning election after election as an independent.As he seeks the presidency as a Democrat, that unwillingness to be pigeonholed could be a liability in New Hampshire. To get on the ballot in the first-in-the-nation primary state, candidates must fill out paperwork that requires them to identify as a registered member of a political party."I don't know if it will be a problem," New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner said when asked whether Sanders' independent status could keep him off the ballot.New Hampshire officials won't take up a case against Sanders without a complaint, Gardner said. A formal challenge to Sanders' eligibility would likely make its way to the state's Ballot Law Commission, the arbiter of such questions. Former Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass raised the issue of Sanders' eligibility in a recent Washington Post opinion piece."In short, Sanders is not a Democrat, has not been elected as a Democrat, has never served as a Democrat and cannot plausibly claim, at least in New Hampshire, to be a Democrat," Bass wrote.
