乔·拜登(Joe Biden)总统的许多最引人注目的民主党挑战者不仅难以在全国民调中取得进展，而且他们在取代他的努力中也遇到了一个重大障碍:首先是进入州投票。

众议员迪恩·菲利普斯(Dean Phillips)、作家玛丽安娜·威廉森(Michael Bloomberg)和进步评论员岑克·维吉尔(Cenk Uygur)在佛罗里达州、田纳西州、北卡罗来纳州和马萨诸塞州遇到了路障，他们声称，没有证据表明，这些路障至少部分是由国家民主党(national Democratic Party)或甚至是总统本人设置的，是“政党精英”和州分会之间更广泛的阴谋的一部分，旨在使这一进程有利于拜登。

国家和国家团体都明确否认这一指控。民主党全国委员会已经明确表示支持现任总统习惯的自从拜登正式开始竞选连任之前。缔约国还指出，它们决定在选票上只包括现任者是"标准做法",列举了以往选举周期中的举措。

2020年民主党总统候选人前副总统乔·拜登于2019年8月9日在爱荷华州Clear Lake的Wing Ding晚宴上与候选人玛丽安娜·威廉森(左)交谈。

亚历克斯·埃德尔曼/法新社

“民主党全国委员会不监督投票。通过各州的政党和州法律来决定是否可以投票。为了出现在选票上，竞选活动必须满足这些机构确定的特定州的要求，”民主党全国委员会的一名助手在对美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中回应质疑竞选活动的指控时说。

这位助手指出，该党为所有民主党初选候选人提供资源和指导，并“继续在这些问题上为他们提供资源。”

维吾尔族人由于其归化公民的身份，面临着额外的无障碍问题。《宪法》第二条第一款明确规定，“除了天生的公民之外，任何人”都不能成为总统。维吾尔族出生在土耳其，八岁时移民到美国，其公民身份似乎不符合宪法要求。

佛罗里达州

这些挑战者在11月下旬受到了第一次重大打击，当时佛罗里达州的民主党人悄悄向他们的国务卿提交了一份将参加3月19日初选的总统候选人名单，只有拜登在名单上。

此举可能会导致该州完全取消竞选，因为佛罗里达州的法律规定，如果一个政党的初选投票中只有一名候选人，他们的初选将不会举行。

菲利普斯、威廉姆森和维吾尔族的竞选活动立即就该州的“专制”和“违宪”决定敲响了警钟，尽管他们试图获得选票，但他们的三名候选人(2024年总统竞选中唯一的其他民主党人)都被排除在投票之外。

虽然向佛罗里达州国务卿提交候选人提名的截止日期是11月30日，但佛罗里达州民主党每四年在州大会上举行一次会议，投票并将候选人列入初选，这是民主党全国委员会批准的代表选举计划中概述的一个过程。

大会于10月27日开始，也就是菲利普斯宣布参选的同一天，于10月29日结束。该党于11月1日提交了选票。威廉姆森的竞选团队表示，他们已经在9月份党内会议之前提交了书面材料，但没有收到回复。

佛罗里达州民主党发言人告诉美国广播公司新闻，这个过程是“标准的”。

“在任总统被宣布自动赢得总统初选并不罕见。2011年，佛罗里达州民主党人同样一致投票支持现任总统巴拉克·奥巴马，”该党在一份声明中写道。

菲利普斯的竞选活动威胁要对佛罗里达州民主党人和民主党全国委员会提出法律挑战。

前总统候选人和企业家杨安泽正在帮助菲利普斯的事业，他告诉ABC新闻，“我们正在激活我们在佛罗里达州的网络，以帮助确保选民在国家的未来有发言权。”杨澄清说，“我们”是他个人认识的网络中的盟友，而不是他在2021年成立的政党“前进党”的官方资源。

“佛罗里达州发生的事情很重要——我们是否生活在民主社会?如果民主党可以简单地取消他们自己的初选，他们应该改变他们的名字，”杨继续说。

Uguyr的竞选团队最终对两党都提出了质疑。本月早些时候，他提出了一项“执行挑战”，认为该州违反了自己的民主党全国委员会批准的代表选举计划，通过其州执行委员会提名一名候选人参加总统优先初选，当时并通过一个未披露的过程，这实际上排除了选票上出现的其他民主党候选人。

12月13日，民主党全国委员会规则和章程委员会联合主席明永·摩尔(Minyon Moore)和小詹姆斯·罗斯福(Robert Jr .)对维吾尔族的申请做出了回应，给佛罗里达州21天的时间来回应这一挑战，由于即将到来的联邦假期，这一期限被延长至1月5日。

民主党全国委员会在佛罗里达州申报截止日期前几周提出为菲利普斯竞选团队提供指导，但竞选团队表示没有接受他们的提议。

菲利普斯的高级顾问杰夫·韦弗(Jeff Weaver)说，“我们还没有机会与他们会面，”他曾负责伯尼·桑德斯2016年的竞选活动，并为他2020年的竞选提供建议。“除了民主党代表选举计划中的内容，他们还能告诉我什么?佛罗里达州党持有民主党代表选择计划的过错?”

田纳西和北卡罗来纳

田纳西州和北卡罗来纳州政党向州选举部门提交初选名单的最后期限分别是12月5日和12月6日。尽管菲利普斯、威廉姆森和维吾尔族等其他候选人努力争取选票，但这两个州的民主党也只提交了拜登作为选民的一个选项。

与佛罗里达州不同，该州的法律规定，如果一个政党的初选投票中只有一名候选人，他们的初选就不会举行，北卡罗来纳州和田纳西州不会取消他们的民主党初选。

然而，与阳光之州类似，民主党人在田纳西州的投票是通过民主党全国委员会批准的州代表选举计划进行的，该计划没有明确概述候选人的申报过程。没有申请费或文书工作-只是一个假设，运动将需要与缔约国通信，以获得选票。

田纳西州民主党主席亨德尔·雷穆斯(Hendrell Remus)表示，州执行委员会于11月11日召开会议，以确定投票结果。他说，拜登是该委员会“感兴趣并审查过的唯一候选人，是一名“真正的民主党人”。

Remus强烈否认了任何关于该党正在与国家民主党人协调努力阻止其他候选人投票的说法。

“对田纳西州来说，这绝对不是真的。我的意思是，我们遵守法律，”莱姆斯说。

他说，他指导每场竞选的另一个选项是参加投票:提交一份由2500名田纳西州注册选民签名的请愿书。菲利普斯的签名正由田纳西州的国务卿核实。

在北卡罗来纳州，该州的一名发言人表示，除拜登外，该州确实收到了维吾尔族、威廉姆森和菲利普斯等候选人的请求，但告诉他们，他们没有达到提名的标准:一个“在新闻媒体中得到普遍倡导和认可”的候选人资格，有一个捐助者群体，包括在该州的积极竞选活动。

一位熟悉北卡罗来纳州民主党的消息人士否认华盛顿特区民主党人的任何干预，如白宫或民主党全国委员会。这位消息人士强调，菲利普斯获得了所有他需要的信息，有足够的时间参加投票，并由该党的一名成员直接陪同。

该党规定的捐款人和竞选要求不在民主党全国委员会批准的北卡罗来纳州代表遴选计划中。

候选人参加北卡罗来纳州民主党初选还有两种方法:由州选举委员会的成员提名，或者提交一份由1万名居民签名的请愿书。

马萨诸塞州

最近，威廉姆森声称，马萨诸塞州民主党在得知该州党主席计划只将拜登的名字提交给英联邦秘书进行正式初选投票后，正在进行“错误的保护乔·拜登的尝试”,尽管她游说反对。

“民主党全国委员会又来了。...这是一种模式，我们不能让它继续下去。

马萨诸塞州民主党发言人向美国广播公司新闻证实，威廉姆森和菲利普斯的竞选团队都向该党主席提交了列入选票的请求，但“按照该州的惯例”，主席确实只提交了拜登的名字。一封表明这一决定的信已于11月22日提交给联邦办公室秘书，该办公室的通信主任黛布拉·欧玛利告诉美国广播公司新闻，但民主党主席可能会在1月初之前增加额外的候选人。

在马萨诸塞州，还有另外两种方式参加投票:从注册和合格选民那里收集2，500个签名，或者在12月22日之前向联邦秘书本人请愿。威廉姆森和菲利普斯的竞选团队计划选择后者，他们各自的团队告诉ABC新闻。

欧玛利说:“在这一过程完成后，国务卿将把任何没有通过其他方式获得资格的全国公认的候选人加入到选票中。”。

据报道，拜登在所有初选对手中遥遥领先538投票。他领先威廉姆森61个百分点，威廉姆森在全国的平均支持率约为7%。菲利普斯的支持率为3.8%。维吾尔族不包括在538的数据汇编中

Biden's Democratic challengers hit ballot access roadblocks

Not only are many of President Joe Biden's most high-profile Democratic challengers having difficulty making a dent in national polling, but they're also running into a major snafu in their efforts to replace him: getting onto state ballots in the first place.

Rep. Dean Phillips, author Marianne Williamson and progressive commentator Cenk Uygur have encountered roadblocks in Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and Massachusetts -- which they allege without evidence have been placed, at least in part, by the national Democratic Party, or even the president himself as part of a broader conspiracy between the "party elites" and state chapters to bend the process in Biden's favor.

Both state and national groups, for their part, unequivocally deny the allegation. The Democratic National Committee has been clear in its support for the incumbent, as iscustomary, since before Biden formally launched his re-election bid. State parties have also noted the "standard practice" of their decision to solely include the incumbent on their ballots, citing the move during previous election cycles.

"The DNC does not oversee ballot access. Ballot access is determined through state parties and state law. In order to appear on a ballot, a campaign must complete state-specific requirements determined by those bodies," a DNC aide said in a statement to ABC News in response to the challenging campaigns' allegations.

The aide noted that the party offers resources and guidance to all Democratic primary candidates and "continues to be available as a resource to them on these matters."

Uygur is facing additional accessibility complications because of his status as a naturalized citizen. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution explicitly states that "no person except a natural born citizen" can be president. After being born in Turkey and immigrating to the U.S. at eight years old, Uygur's citizenship status seemingly does not fit under the constitutional requirement.

The first major blow was dealt to these challengers in late November, when Florida Democrats quietly submitted to their secretary of state a list of presidential candidates who would participate in their primary election on March 19 -- and only Biden was on it.

The move will likely trigger the state to cancel the contest altogether, as Florida state law dictates that if only one candidate is included on a party's primary ballot, their primary election would not be held.

The campaigns of Phillips, Williamson and Uygur immediately sounded the alarm over the state party's "authoritarian" and "unconstitutional" decision to exclude all three of their candidates -- the only other Democrats in the 2024 presidential race -- from the ballot despite their attempts to gain access.

While the deadline to submit nominations for the ballot to the Florida secretary of state was Nov. 30, it's the Florida Democratic Party's process to meet every four years at their state convention to vote and place candidates on their primary ballot, a process outlined in the DNC-approved delegate selection plan.

That convention began on Oct. 27 -- the same day that Phillips announced his candidacy -- and ended on Oct. 29. The party submitted their ballot on Nov. 1. Williamson's campaign said it had sent its paperwork in September, ahead of the party meeting, but did not hear back.

A spokesperson for the Florida Democratic Party told ABC News that the process is "standard."

"It is not uncommon for an incumbent president to be declared the automatic winner of a presidential primary. In 2011, Florida Democrats similarly voted unanimously for incumbent President Barack Obama," the party wrote in a statement.

Phillips' campaign has threatened legal challenges against both the Florida Democrats and the Democratic National Committee.

Former presidential candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang is assisting Phillips' cause, telling ABC News that "we are activating our network in Florida to help ensure that voters have a say in the future of the country." Yang clarified the "we" are allies in his network he knows personally rather than the official resources of the political party he founded in 2021, "The Forward Party."

"What's happening in Florida is important -- do we live in a democracy or not? If the Democrats can simply cancel their own primaries they should change their name to something else," Yang continued.

Uguyr's campaign eventually did file challenges against both parties. Earlier this month, he brought an "implementation challenge" arguing that the state party violated its own DNC-approved delegate selection plan by nominating a single candidate for the presidential preference primary through its State Executive Committee at a time and through a process that were not disclosed, which effectually excluded additional Democratic candidates appearing on the ballot.

On Dec. 13, DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Co-Chairs Minyon Moore and James Roosevelt, Jr. responded to Uygur's filing by giving the Florida state party 21 days to respond to the challenge, a window that was then extended until Jan. 5 because of impending federal holidays.

The DNC offered to provide guidance to the Phillips campaign a few weeks before the Florida filing deadline, but the campaign said it did not take up their offer.

"We have not had an opportunity to meet with them," said Jeff Weaver, a senior advisor for Phillips, who ran Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign and advised his 2020 run. "What were they going to tell me beyond what was in the Democratic delegate selection plan? That the Florida party is holding out of fault the Democratic delegate selection plan?"

Tennessee and North Carolina

The deadlines for political parties in Tennessee and North Carolina to submit primary ballot lists to their state elections divisions were Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, respectively. The Democratic parties in both states also submitted just Biden as an option for voters, despite efforts from other candidates like Phillips, Williamson and Uygur to get on ballots.

Unlike in Florida, where there is a state law saying that if only one candidate is included on a party's primary ballot, their primary election would not be held, North Carolina and Tennessee will not cancel their Democratic primaries.

Yet, similarly to the Sunshine State, ballot access in Tennessee for Democrats is directed through a DNC-approved state delegate selection plan that does not explicitly outline a filing process for candidates. There is no filing fee or paperwork -- just an assumption that campaigns would need to correspond with the state party in order to get on the ballot.

Hendrell Remus, the chair of the Tennessee Democrats, said the State Executive Committee convened on Nov. 11 to establish its ballot. Biden was the only candidate the committee had "received interest from and vetted," he said, as a "a bona fide Democrat."

Remus fiercely denied any claims that the party was coordinating with national Democrats in efforts to deny other candidates from their ballot.

"That's absolutely not true for Tennessee. I mean, we follow the law," said Remus.

He said he directed each campaign to the other option for getting on the ballot: filing a petition signed by 2,500 registered Tennessee voters. Phillips' signatures are being verified by Tennessee's secretary of state.

In North Carolina, a spokesperson for the state party said it did get requests from candidates other than Biden, including Uygur, Williamson and Phillips, but told them they did not reach the standards for their nomination: a candidacy that is "generally advocated and recognized in the news media," that has a donor base and that includes active campaigning in the state.

A source familiar with the North Carolina Democrats denies any meddling from Democrats in Washington, D.C., such as the White House or the DNC. The source stressed that Phillips was equipped with all the information he needed to qualify for the ballot with significant time and was walked through the process by a member of the party directly.

The donor and campaign requirements dictated by the party are not in North Carolina's delegate selection plan approved by the DNC.

There are two additional methods for candidates to get on the North Carolina Democratic primary ballot: being nominated by a member of the State Board of Elections or submitting a petition signed by 10,000 residents.

Most recently, Williamson alleged that the Massachusetts Democratic Party was conducting a "misplaced attempt at protecting Joe Biden" after she learned the state party chair planned only to submit Biden's name -- despite her lobbying for the contrary -- to the secretary of the commonwealth for the official primary ballot.

"The DNC is at it again. ... This is a pattern and we cannot let it stand," Williamson said on X.

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Democratic Party confirmed to ABC News that both Williamson and Phillips' campaigns submitted requests to the party's chairman to be placed on the ballot, but, "in following the state party's custom," the chair indeed only submitted Biden's name. A letter indicating that decision was submitted to the secretary of the commonwealth's office on Nov. 22, the office's communications director Debra O'Malley told ABC News, but the Democratic Party chair could add additional candidates until early January.

There are two other ways to get on the ballot in Massachusetts: collecting 2,500 signatures from registered and eligible voters or petitioning the secretary of the commonwealth himself by Dec 22. Williamson and Phillips' campaigns plan on pursuing the latter option, their respective teams tell ABC News.

"After that process is complete, the secretary will add any nationally recognized candidates to the ballot who have not qualified through other methods," O'Malley said.

Biden holds sizable leads over all of his primary challengers, according to538 polling. He has a 61-point lead over Williamson, who averages around 7% nationally. Phillips is polling at 3.8%. Uygur was not included in 538's compilation of data