Several New York politics blogs and publications have recently said that Bernie Sanders is in danger of being kept off the New York presidential primary ballot because he is not a Democrat and the Democratic Party has the power to keep non-members off its prseidential primary ballot. Here is the article in Power Line; here is the article in Gothamist. Here is the CapitalNew York story.

The articles are incorrect. The Wilson-Pakula law does not pertain to presidential primaries. The Wilson-Pakula law, sec. 6-120, does keep non-members off the primary ballots of parties (unless party committees approve letting them on), but it only relates to offices for which nominations are made. No state’s presidential primary nominates a major party’s presidential candidate. Only the party’s national conventions do that. The candidates in New York Democratic presidential primaries are individuals running for Delegate to the national convention.

On January 5, 1996, Donald L. Fowler, national chair of the Democratic Party, sent a letter to each state Democratic Party, declaring that Lyndon LaRouche “is not a bona fide Democrat” and therefore if any LaRouche delegates were elected in any Democratic presidential primaries, they would not be seated. LaRouche supporters did win a few delegate slots, but the party refused to seat them and the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. circuit, upheld the party’s actions.

Nevertheless, LaRouche appeared on the New York Democratic presidential primary ballot in New York in 2000 and 2004 (there was no New York Democratic presidential primary in 1996). If the Wilson-Pakula applied to presidential primaries, LaRouche would have been barred from the New York Democratic presidential primaries. The only time he ever ran for public office, other than President, was in 1990, when he was an independent candidate for Congress. He lived in Virginia which does not have registration by party.