DNC Sued

CNN reports on the first of what will probably be many law suits: Attorney: DNC violates Constitution

Atlanta (CNN) — The Democratic National Committee is violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by allowing only four states to hold caucuses or primaries before the first Tuesday in February, a Florida attorney argued Monday before a federal appeals court.

Attorney Michael Steinberg filed suit in August on behalf of Democratic Party activist Vincent Dimaio.

The suit came after the DNC said it would not seat Florida delegates at the national convention because the state party defied party rules and scheduled its primary for January 29.

A federal judge in Florida dismissed the lawsuit in October, but Dimaio appealed.

“You can’t treat the citizens of some states differently than other states,” Steinberg told reporters after the hearing. “What I tried to assert is that the DNC has the right to make rules … but the rules have to be the same for all the states.”

According to party rules, only Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire can schedule their primaries or caucuses before the first Tuesday in February.

Steinberg argued that the 14th Amendment, which bars states from denying individuals equal protection under the law, should prohibit the DNC from creating rules that make the votes of the residents of those four states “paramount to the rights of the voters in Florida.”

If staging a primary has to be approved by state agencies, it isn’t a private matter. If that primary is subject to review by the Justice Department’s civil rights division in 5 Florida counties, it isn’t a private matter. If the timing of the primary is subject to state law, it isn’t a private matter.

As Hipparchia points out the DNC changed their selection calendar, starting a month earlier than they wanted, because the Republicans refused to change theirs. The only people the DNC can’t accommodate are Democratic voters.