not excusable, and (3) the delay caused [them] undue prejudice.” United States v. Barfield, 396 F.3d 1144, 1150 (11th Cir. 2005). See also Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. v. Lee, 915 F.3d 1312, 1326 (11th Cir. 2019) (“To succeed on a laches claim, [defendant] must demonstrate that [p]laintiffs inexcusably delayed bringing their claim and that the delay caused it undue prejudice.”). Courts apply laches in election cases. E.g., Sanders v. Dooly Cnty., Ga., 245 F.3d 1289, 1291 (11th Cir. 2001) (“[W]e conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in deeming the claims seeking injunctive relief to be laches-barred.”). See also, e.g., Detroit Unity Fund v. Whitmer, 819 F. App’x 421, 422 (6th Cir. 2020) (holding district court did not err in finding that plaintiff’s claims regarding deadline for local ballot initiatives “barred by laches, considering the unreasonable delay on the part of [p]laintiffs and the consequent prejudice to [d]efendants”). Cf. Benisek v. Lamone, 138 S. Ct. 1942, 1944 (2018) (“[A] party requesting a preliminary injunction must generally show reasonable diligence. That is as true in election law cases as elsewhere.”) (internal citation omitted). Defendants have established each element of laches.
- i. Delay
First, Wood delayed considerably in asserting these claims. On March 6, 2020, the GDP, DSCC, DCCC, and Defendants executed the Settlement
