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By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
The Democratic National Committee and its allies are asking a federal appeals court to void a ballot-order system they say gives a built-in — and they contend recurring — advantage for Republicans.
Legal papers filed with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals contend it is both unfair and illegal to require candidates be listed on the ballot based on how well the gubernatorial hopeful from their party performed in the last election.
“For the past 40 years, the result has been the systemic favoritism of Republicans on the vast majority of general election ballots,” wrote attorney Sarah Gonski. In the last election, that has meant that 82% of all voters got ballots that listed GOP contenders first in each and every partisan race.
What makes that important, she said, is research that shows, everything else being equal, people will choose the first name listed.
“Unless enjoined, the statute will result in the same arbitrary advantage to Republican candidates in 2022,” Gonski said.
