TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A federal judge's ruling today states
the Democratic National Committee can penalize Florida Democrats by
stripping the state of its convention delegates because it is
holding an early presidential primary.
District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in favor of the D-N-C in a
lawsuit by Florida congressmen Bill Nelson and Alcee Hastings.
Nelson and Hastings were arguing that state Democrats were being
illegally penalized for the state having the primary earlier than
national rules allow.
But Hinkle said that political parties have a First Amendment
right to set and enforce their own rules. The national party did
that, which means that Florida will not have a say in picking the
Democratic nominee.
Florida's primary is January 29th. But Democratic Party rules
say states cannot hold their 2008 primary contests before February
5th, except for four states.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-12-05-07 1455EST
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