On December 27, the 11th circuit refused to disturb the injunction that had been granted by a U.S. District Court on December 18, concerning Florida voter registration practices. The case is Florida State Conference of the NAACP v Browning, no. 07-15932. The vote was 3-0.

The issue is a Florida law that won’t let voters register, unless the Florida drivers license number the voter provides (or the last four digits of his or her Social Security number), matches a government database. Because the 11th circuit refused to disturb the injunction, 16,000 voters who have been trying to register will now become registered, in time to vote in the January 29 presidential primary.

Two of the three judges on the 11th circuit are Republican appointees: Joel Dubina of Alabama (appointed by President Bush Senior), and Gerald Tjoflat of Florida (appointed by President Ford). Tjoflat is a very conservative judge in election law matters. The third judge was Clinton appointee Rosemary Barkett of Florida.

The 11th circuit also accelerated the part of the case that will determine if the Florida requirement is constitutional. The briefs are due January 14.

The U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, will hold a heareing in Hayes v Michigan Democratic Party on Monday, January 7, at 10 a.m. This is the case in which a Democratic Party activist argues that the presidential primary (set for January 15) should be cancelled or postponed. The case number is 1:07-cv-1237. It is before Judge Robert J. Jonker, who only became a U.S. District Court Judge this year.

The California Peace & Freedom Party will host a presidential candidate debate. All seven candidates in the party’s presidential primary are invited. It will be in San Francisco, Saturday, January 12, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., at the Brava Theater, 2781 24th St., upstairs.

The seven presidential candidates on the PFP primary ballot are: Stewart Alexander, John Crockford, Stanley Hetz, Gloria LaRiva, Cynthia McKinney, Brian Moore, and Ralph Nader. Since Nader has not declared yet that he is running for president, it seems unlikely that he will attend.