WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Legal experts said a lawsuit filed against the Democratic National Committee on behalf of Florida's primary faces significant hurdles.
Florida congressional leaders this month filed suit against the national party for imposing sanctions against Florida for moving its preferential primary to Jan. 29. The sanctions strip Florida of its delegates to next year's Democratic convention.
Without delegates, the primary results will be meaningless, denying a voice to state Democratic voters, particularly blacks, who overwhelmingly vote Democratic, the plaintiffs charge in the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs face an uphill battle because the U.S. Supreme Court has given political parties wide leeway to set rules for primaries, The Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday.
In cases in Wisconsin in 1981 and Illinois in 1975, the court said party rules take precedent over state law in the selection of nominees, the Monitor reported. Still, some experts say the suit's claim of racial bias may lend the case more weight than it might otherwise receive, the Monitor reported.
