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Florida Democrats Lose On Primary

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By BILL KACZOR, The Associated Press

Published: December 6, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - The Democratic National Committee can penalize Florida by taking away its 210 convention delegates for holding its presidential primary a week earlier than party rules allow, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle sided with the DNC and its chairman, Howard Dean, in a lawsuit by two of Florida's leading Democratic politicians.

An attorney for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings argued Florida's 4 million Democratic voters are being unconstitutionally penalized because the Republican-led Legislature set the primary on Jan. 29 in violation of national party rules.

Political parties do have a First Amendment right to set and enforce their own rules, including primary schedules, Hinkle said, citing prior decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in similar cases.

"There is nothing in the Constitution that mandates a free-for-all," the judge said. "Florida has to abide by the same rules and procedures as everyone else."

The national party is punishing Florida and Michigan, which has a Jan. 15 primary, by withholding all of their delegates, which means Democratic voters in those two states will have no say in picking the party's nominee. Michigan has 156 delegates.

Lawyer: Appeal Unlikely

The plaintiffs' attorney, Kendall Coffey, said that Nelson, who listened to the hearing through a telephone connection, and Hastings have not yet decided whether to appeal but it was unlikely that they would do so.

"It is a Republican-only primary on Jan. 29 and that's a shame for Democrats," Coffey said.

He said the two lawmakers plan to continue pursing the issue in Congress where they are seeking federal legislation to revamp the primary system for future elections.

Nelson has joined Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., in filing a bill that would divide the nation into six regions, each with its own primary date.

Hastings of Miramar and four other Florida representatives have introduced a measure that would establish rotating primary dates for four regions.

"There are few issues in this country as paramount as protecting Americans' right to vote and have that vote count," Hastings said. "If the parties will not change on their own, then Congress will do it for them. We will not stand idly by as the DNC tries to silence our voices."

Democratic rules say states cannot hold primary contests before Feb. 5, except for Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The calendar was designed, in part, to preserve the traditional role Iowa and New Hampshire have played in selecting the nominee. It also gives increased influence to two key minority groups because Nevada has a large Hispanic population and blacks make up a big voting bloc in South Carolina, said the national party's lawyer, Joseph Sandler.

DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said the national party was pleased the judge recognized its constitutional right "to enforce its rules and treat all the state Democratic parties in a fair and equal way."

Caucus Called 'Farcical' Option

National party officials had suggested Florida hold caucuses at a later date to select delegates. Coffey said that was a "farcical" option because Florida has no experience with caucuses, only a small minority of voters could participate and those who did would lose the right to cast a secret ballot.

Hinkle also dismissed the state as defendant in the case but said he would allow Nelson and Hastings to refile against the state with new allegations that its election date violates the federal Voting Rights Act.

Coffey, though, said they probably would not do that. A group of activists from both parties has filed a similar complaint in state court here, he said.

That suit claims the law setting the early primary violates the rights of Florida voters and interferes with the internal affairs of the Democratic and Republican parties.

Coffey asked Hinkle to order the party to impose a less severe penalty such as sanctions against state party leaders or withdrawing only half the delegation, the same penalty the Republican National Committee is imposing on Florida.

As a last resort, he said, the judge could delay the election to a later date. In past years, Florida has voted in March, but by then both nominations usually have been decided.

Republican legislative leaders, encouraged by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, pushed the date change in a bid to give Florida, the nation's largest swing state, a greater role in the nominating process.

Most Democratic candidates have agreed not to campaign in Florida, further diminishing the state's role, but they have continued to visit the state to raise money. Sandler told the judge the campaigning boycott is voluntary and not required by the party.

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