McDonald

MEMORANDUM **

Shan L. McDonald, Jerri Walters, and Jennifer Cassidy appeal the district court’s order denying their motion for a preliminary injunction against certification of the results of the San Diego mayoral election held on November 2, 2004. They claim that the City’s allowance of a write-in candidate violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the City Charter. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292 (a)(1), and we affirm.

Our review of an order denying a preliminary injunction is limited and deferential. Southwest Voter Registration Educ. Project v. Shelley, 344 F.3d 914 , 918 (9th Cir.2003) (en banc). The district court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that the appellants failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits because them equal protection claim, filed after the election, was barred by the equitable defense of laches. See id. at 917-18; Soules v. Kauaians for Nukolii Campaign Comm., 849 F.2d 1176 , 1181 (9th Cir.1988). The district court also did not abuse its discretion in its consideration of the balance of the hardships, the possibility of irreparable injury, and the…