On February 27, the New Hampshire House passed HB 588. It amends the law on who can file to run in a presidential primary. Current law says a candidate must be a registered member of that party. The bill adds that the candidate is also eligible if he or she is recognized as a candidate for the nomination of that party. Here is the text.

The existing law is irrational, because 19 states don’t have registration by party. But no one seems to have noticed the flaw in the law until 2016, when Bernie Sanders filed to run in the Democratic presidential primary, even though he is an independent, not a Democrat. He was allowed to file anyway, although someone did file a challenge against his ballot status.