A lawsuit has been filed in Florida challenging 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' position on the March 17 presidential primary ballot.

Two Florida Democrats, Frank Bach and George Brown, have filed a lawsuit in circuit court in Leon County asking that that Sanders be disqualified from the Democratic primary because he is a declared independent. The lawsuit further requests the state refrain from counting any of the 244,000 absentee votes that may have been cast for Sanders by mail. The Florida Democratic Party labeled the complaint “ridiculous,” and the Sanders campaign called it “spurious.”

“Florida is a closed primary state, yet here we have someone who is an independent on the Democratic ballot,” said Karen Gievers, who is representing Bach and Brown. “You can’t be an independent and be a member of the party.”

“The Florida Democratic Party executive committee voted unanimously to place Senator Sanders on the Florida ballot,” Juan Penalosa, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party said. “Votes cast for the senator are valid and must be counted.”

Gievers countered, “It‘s hard to think that voter suppression or dilution would be described as ridiculous by a party official.”

According to news sources, Florida law gives political parties leeway to decide which candidates can appear on a party’s primary ballot.

—Source: Politico.com