SANTA ANA, Calif. (NBC) – Senator Bernie Sanders has a message and a warning for California voters who are registered Independents but may want vote in the Democratic presidential primary.
Sanders reminded those Californians registered as “No Party Preference” that they must request a Democratic crossover ballot in order to vote for him, or any other Democrat, in the March 3rd primary.
The Sanders campaign is concerned that they may lose out on votes in the primary from potential supporters who aren’t registered Democrats.
The senator himself decried a California voting process he says is needlessly complex. “Unfortunately because of the complexity of the situation most NPP voters seem to be unaware that they have to request a Democratic Party crossover ballot in order vote in the Democratic primary,” he said. “Unfortunately under the current NPP participation rules, we risk locking out millions of young people, millions of young people of color, and many, many other people who wanted to participate in the Democratic primary but may find it impossible for them to do so. And that seems to me to be very, very wrong.
“No Party Preference” is the second-most common registration preference for California voters, trailing only those registered as Democrats.
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