Both sides in Republican Party of Connecticut v Merrill have agreed that a higher state court should hear the case. Therefore, the Superior Court (the trial court) will not be involved in the case any longer. The issue is which party should be listed first on the general election ballot, the Republican Party or the Democratic Party.

The law says the parties should be on the ballot in order of their gubernatorial vote totals in the last gubernatorial election. The Secretary of State put the Democratic Party first, even though the Republican Party got more votes on its line for Governor in 2010. The Secretary of State added the Working Families Party gubernatorial vote onto the Democratic Party vote to justify her decision. She is a Democrat.