Why Joe Biden is missing from the New Hampshire primary ballot

Democratic voters in New Hampshire hoping to support President Joe Biden in the state’s primary on Tuesday may be surprised to find his name missing from their ballot papers.

Instead, they will see only those of his challengers – Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips and eccentric self-help guru Marianne Williamson – and will have to write in Mr Biden’s name themselves if they wish to cast a vote for him.

His absence is a result of a disagreement between the Granite State and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over the president’s request that South Carolina be the first state to have a say in his pursuit of a second term in the White House on the basis that it is more reflective of the party’s diverse demographic makeup, which is why he was not in contention in the Iowa Caucus on 15 January.

South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary is scheduled for 3 February so New Hampshire would have been required to move its own contest to 6 February, the same day as Nevada, in order to accommodate Mr Biden’s preference.

However, the Republican-run state of New Hampshire cherishes the first-in-the-nation status its primary contests enjoy and which is enshrined in its law and has therefore refused to play ball, insisting that the Democratic vote goes ahead with or without the president.

That leaves only Mr Phillips and Ms Williamson on the ballot and no delegates at stake, with the DNC dismissing the event as insignificant and instructing the New Hampshire Democratic Party to “educate the public” that next Tuesday’s primary is of no consequence to the 2024 race.

However, its attitude has angered the state’s attorney general John Formella, who wrote a cease and desist letter to the committee on 12 January warning it not to