On May 28, the 5th circuit reversed a U.S. District Court in the Mississippi Democratic Party’s lawsuit. Here is the decision. The U.S. District Court had ruled that Mississippi must give the Democratic Party an opportunity to close its primary to outsiders. The 5th circuit said that the case should be dismissed, because the Democratic Party has not passed any Bylaws on closing its primaries, and because it has not asked the U.S. Justice Department, Voting Rights Section, to preclear such bylaws. Mississippi is one of the states covered by section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which means that neither the government, nor political parties, may change election rules without getting approval from the federal government.
The case is Mississippi State Democratic Party v Barbour, 07-60667. The decision erroneously cites a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Renne v Geary, to strengthen itself. The 5th circuit decision says, “MSDP’s situation more closely resembles that of the Democrat Party in Renne v Geary. The party challenged a California statute that prohibited political parties from endorsing candidates for nonpartisan office.” This sentence is factually erroneous. The Democratic Party was not a plaintiff in Renne v Geary, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court said the plaintiffs (various county central committee members of the San Francisco Democratic Party) didn’t have standing. In the current Mississippi case, the Democratic Party is a plaintiff. The 5th circuit opinion is by Judge Edith Jones, who shows her bias by referring to the Democratic Party as the “Democrat Party.” She is somewhat well-known for being a partisan Republican. Thanks to Steve Rankin for the news.
