Biden backers launch write-in campaign amid 2024 primary fight with New Hampshire

President Joe Biden's supporters in New Hampshire launched a write-in campaign Monday morning aimed at winning the first-in-the-nation primary for the incumbent Democrat who declined to put his name on the ballot.

Their website implores New Hampshire voters to join the "grassroots movement of Granite Staters who are pledging to stand up for our democracy by writing in Joe Biden for President in the New Hampshire primary in January 2024."

"The fate of our democracy itself hangs in the balance in the 2024 election," the website says.

New Hampshire is in a fight with the Democratic National Committee over its expected primary date, which has not been announced but is expected to take place in January. Biden did not file to appear on the state's primary ballot, as a result, and Democrats backing his reelection bid went ahead with a planned write-in campaign on Monday instead.

Volunteers listed as helping with the effort include New Hampshire Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy and House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm.

Neither the Biden campaign nor the New Hampshire Democratic Party can be involved in the effort without facing delegate penalties from the national party.

The grassroots group's website calls those rules "misguided" and urges Democrats and independents, who can cast a ballot in either party's primary in New Hampshire, to put "petty party politics" aside and write Biden's name on the primary ballot.

"On the night of the New Hampshire primary, the eyes of the world will turn to the very first votes cast of the 2024 election - and it’s important to show the world that thousands of New Hampshire voters are supporting President Joe Biden," the website says in a section on Biden's record in office.

The DNC approved a Biden-led plan earlier this year that would make New Hampshire the second primary in 2024, after South Carolina, and require the state to hold its contest on the same day as Nevada. Citing a state law that mandates it go first, New Hampshire has refused. Biden said last week that he would not file to appear on the state's primary ballot. The deadline was 5 p.m. on Friday.

Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips announced Friday in New Hampshire that he would challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination. He filed the paperwork to compete in the state, where he will not be eligible to receive delegates because of his participation on the contest.

Phillips missed the filing deadline in Nevada, but he can still file to compete in South Carolina.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden backers launch write-in campaign in New Hampshire