On September 28, the 4th circuit upheld Maryland’s law, requiring that candidates be listed on primary ballots in alphabetical order. Schaefer v Lamone, 07-1003. The 4th circuit did not write its own opinion, but merely said it agrees with the U.S. District Court decision from 2006. That decision said that the state has a “compelling interest” in “avoiding voter confusion”, and that voter confusion would result if a random method of determining ballot order were used. This is a textbook example of how the courts use “voter confusion” to justify any state restriction that they aren’t inclined to examine closely and analytically. The three 4th circuit judges in this case are M. Blane Michael and William Traxler (Clinton appointees), and Roger Gregory (a Bush Jr. appointee).