On June 3, the Eleventh Circuit issued a 20-page opinion in Cowen v Georgia Secretary of State, 19-14065. It remands the case back to the U.S. District Court, and tells that Court to re-hear the case, this time evaluating the evidence. This case challenges the petition requirements for minor party nominees for U.S. House. The U.S. District Court had upheld them despite the evidence, believing that the 1971 Jenness v Fortson decision required that result. The Eleventh Circuit disagrees. The Eleventh Circuit says that there is an equal protection problem with the Georgia law that had not existed in 1971. Furthermore, when Jenness v Fortson was decided, there had been successful uses of the statewide petition in each of the two elections before Jenness had been filed. But in this case, there are no successful uses of the 5% petition for U.S. House since 1964, and none ever for a minor party candidate.

The decision is by Judge R. Lanier Anderson, and also signed by Judges Gerald Tjoflat and Adalberto Jordan.