On December 20, the Eleventh Circuit expedited the case Jacobson v Florida Secretary of State, 19-14552. This is the case over the order of candidates on Florida general election ballots. The law gives the nominees of the party that won the last gubernatorial election the top spot on the ballot. Earlier this year, the U.S. District Court declared the law unconstitutional. The case had been filed by Democrats. Republicans have won all gubernatorial elections in Florida starting with 1998.
The Eleventh Circuit also refused to stay the decision of the U.S. District Court.
The Florida government brief is due January 7, 2020. The Democratic brief is due January 21, and the government’s reply brief is due February 4. The three judges on the Eleventh Circuit in this case are Beverly B. Martin (an Obama appointee); and Kevin Newsom and Britt Grant (Trump appointees).
A decision from the Eleventh Circuit in this case will probably control the outcome of a similar Georgia Democratic Party case that is pending in U.S. District Court. Both Florida and Georgia are in the Eleventh Circuit. The Georgia case is S.P.S.. ex rel Short v Raffensperger, n.d., 1:19cv-4960. In that case, the Georgia government has asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court decision Rucho v Common Cause (which said partisan gerrymandering does not violate the U.S. Constitution) means that federal courts have no authority to adjudicate cases on the order of candidates on the ballot. That is a very weak argument.
