On August 28, the Florida State Court of Appeals, First District, restored Ryan Torrens to the Democratic primary ballot. He is a candidate for Attorney General. Last week a trial court had “removed” him from the ballot. The primary is today, Tuesday, August 28. The lower court couldn’t physically remove his name from the ballots, but ordered that his votes could not be counted. But now they will be counted. See this story.

On August 27, a 3-judge U.S. District Court again struck down North Carolina’s U.S. House districts as an unconstitutional gerrymander. Common Cause v Rucho, m.d., 1:16cv-1026. Judge James Wynn, an Obama appointee, wrote the decision. Judge W. Earl Britt, a Carter appointee, signed it. They wrote that the Constitution prohibits any redistricting that is deliberately designed to help one particular party and injure another party.

The same panel had early this year come to a similar decision. Then the state had appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which sent the case back with instructions to re-do it.

Judge William Osteen, Jr., a Bush Jr. appointee, agreed with the other two judges that the North Carolina districts are unconstitutional, because the partisanship in that plan is so extreme. But he also wrote that the Constitution does not prohibit all partisan gerrymandering.

The decision invites the legislature, which is in session, to redraw the districts. Because the primary has already been held, the opinion suggests that the general election could be changed so that filing is re-opened and individuals would run without being party nominees. The same remedy has sometimes been used in Texas, when redistricting was struck down after the primary was over. The decision notes that the North Carolina legislature had created a similar system this year for state judicial elections. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.