Associated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. - The New Hampshire Republican Party wants the state’s Democratic superdelegates to support Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In an online petition launched Monday, the Republican Party says that even though Sanders won the state’s primary last week by 22 percentage points, when the votes of the party’s superdelegates are taken into account, the party’s delegation appears to be split 15-15 between Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“How is this possible?” the Republican petition says. “Because Democrats have set up an undemocratic system that allows party elites called ‘super delegates’ to single-handedly cancel out the votes of thousands of grassroots activists.”

WMUR-TV reports Democrats will send to the convention 32 delegates, including eight superdelegates, top Democratic officials who are free to vote as they choose. Six superdelegates are supporting Clinton.

“This NHGOP stunt reeks of desperation,” said Melissa Miller, the press secretary for New Hampshire Democrats.

“New Hampshire Democrats have a long tradition of unifying behind our nominees, and we look forward to doing so and trouncing the Party of Trump up and down the ballot in November,” she said, referring to Donald Trump, who won the state’s Republican primary.

The Republicans use a different process for choosing delegates to their party’s convention, based on the proportion of the votes candidates receive in the primary. Trump, the top vote-getter in last week’s New Hampshire primary, is expected to receive 10 of the GOP’s 23 delegates

“Even though we vehemently disagree with Senator Sanders on his radical socialist agenda, we stand with his supporters who want their voices to be heard,” the petition said.