Florida Voter's (DiMaio) Lawsuit Dismissed

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http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/28/florida_voters_lawsuit_dismiss.html

A federal judge in Tampa has again tossed out a lawsuit filed by a Florida political consultant angry that his vote in the state's Democratic primary will not count. Victor DiMaio's lawsuit contended that the Democratic National Committee is discriminating against Florida voters. DiMaio argued that party leaders unfairly allowed Nevada and South Carolina to hold their presidential primaries prior to February 5, in part because of the sizable minority populations in both states, but punished Florida and Michigan for skirting the rules.

"How do you ignore the fourth largest state in the nation and millions of Florida voters who exercised their right to vote?" DiMaio said in a statement before the ruling.

Judge Richard A. Lazzara agreed with the DNC, which said that it its practices are not discriminatory and political parties have a constitutional right to determine how delegates are selected in their nominating process. The party has stripped Florida and Michigan of all their delegates for bucking party rules and holding their primaries early.

The fight among over the delegates is set to continue this weekend when the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the DNC is scheduled to meet in Washington to hear appeals by Florida and Michigan. Supporters of both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have planned protests.

DiMaio's suit is the third filed against the DNC over its decision to strip Florida of its convention delegates. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Alcee Hastings, both Democrats from Florida, filed a lawsuit that was dismissed in late 2007 and a Florida Democratic state senator filed a suit last week.