Circuit expressly abrogated its holding in that case over thirteen years ago. Dillard, 495 F.3d at 1331–32 (“We subsequently upheld Meek’s reasoning against repeated challenges that it was wrongly decided in light of the Supreme Court’s later decisions… [b]ut it is clear that we can no longer do so in light of the Supreme Court’s most recent pronouncement on voter standing in Lance.”).
During oral argument, Wood additionally pointed to Roe v. State of Alabama by & through Evans, 43 F.3d 574 (11th Cir. 1995), but that case does not support Wood’s standing argument. For example, two plaintiffs in Roe were candidates for a political office decided in the challenged election. Id. at 579. Wood is a private citizen, not a candidate for any elected office. Moreover, the Eleventh Circuit found particularized harm in the post-election inclusion of absentee ballots that had been deemed invalid. Id. at 580. Wood here seeks to do the opposite—remove validly cast absentee ballots after completion of the election.
In sum, Wood lacks standing to pursue these claims in the first instance.
- b. The Doctrine of Laches
Even if the Court found Wood possessed standing to pursue his claims regarding the Settlement Agreement (Counts I and II), such claims would nonetheless be barred by the doctrine of laches. To establish laches, Defendants must show “(1) there was a delay in asserting a right or a claim, (2) the delay was
