On January 31, the Arizona Secretary of State filed this reply brief in Mecinas v Hobbs, 2:19cv-5547. This is the case filed last year by the Democratic Party, to overturn a law that says the nominees of the party that received the most votes in the last gubernatorial election (in that county) are listed first on the ballot.

The state continues to insist that all lawsuits of this type are procedurally flawed, and therefore the brief doesn’t discuss evidence. The state maintains that if partisan gerrymandering doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution, ballot order laws that favor one particular party can’t be unconstitutional either.