Florida voter’s lawsuit returns to lower court

An appeals court on Friday rejected on technical grounds a Florida case challenging the Democratic Party’s decision to strip the state of its presidential nominating delegates.

But the three-judge panel said the case “raises a number of interesting and potentially significant questions” and sent it back to a district court for further action.

Victor DiMaio of Tampa plans to amend his suit and ask the district court for a swift ruling, still hoping to force the party to seat Florida’s delegates at the national convention in August.

“Now we are in crunch time, with only a few months to go through this,” DiMaio said. “But we are going to fix it.”

“This court case could decide who the next president will be,” he said. “I hope the court realizes it, treats it with respect and gives it an expedited hearing. I’m still fighting for the voters of Florida.”

DiMaio claims the party treated Florida differently than other states and disenfranchised voters by taking away the state’s delegates as punishment for holding a presidential primary in January, against party rules.

A federal district court in Tampa rejected the suit, and DiMaio appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

The appeals court ruled that DiMaio lacked standing to bring the suit because he had filed it in August and could not claim to have been injured since he had not yet voted.

He plans to amend the suit to say that he voted on Jan. 29 but his vote did not count.

The Democratic National Committee issued a statement Friday saying it was pleased with the ruling.

“As two U.S. district courts in Florida have found, and as the Supreme Court has consistently recognized, national political parties have a constitutionally protected right to manage and conduct their own internal affairs, including the enforcement of delegate selection rules,” the DNC said.

DiMaio’s attorney, Michael Steinberg, said the case is important because it could affect future elections, even if it is not decided in time to influence this year’s nominations.

“If we get a ruling, it could set a precedent for how these things are decided in 2012 and 2016,” Steinberg said.