Atlanta (CNN) -- The Democratic National Committee is violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by allowing only four states to hold caucuses or primaries before the first Tuesday in February, a Florida attorney argued Monday before a federal appeals court.
Florida Democratic officials knew voters' ballots wouldn't count when they were cast January 29.
Attorney Michael Steinberg filed suit in August on behalf of Democratic Party activist Victor DiMaio.
The suit came after the DNC said it would not seat Florida delegates at the national convention because the state party defied party rules and scheduled its primary for January 29.
A federal judge in Florida dismissed the lawsuit in October, but DiMaio appealed.
"You can't treat the citizens of some states differently than other states," Steinberg told reporters after the hearing. "What I tried to assert is that the DNC has the right to make rules ... but the rules have to be the same for all the states."
According to party rules, only Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire can schedule their primaries or caucuses before the first Tuesday in February.
Steinberg argued that the 14th Amendment, which bars states from denying individuals equal protection under the law, should prohibit the DNC from creating rules that make the votes of the residents of those four states "paramount to the rights of the voters in Florida." 
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Joe Sandler, attorney for the DNC, told the three-judge panel that the committee is a private entity and "is actually exercising its own constitutional right by not seating delegates."
"The point we were trying to make in court today is that it's up to the parties themselves to determine the best means of selecting delegates to the convention, and it's not really a matter for a court to resolve," he told reporters later.
DiMaio, who referred to himself as the "little guy" who speaks for Floridians, told reporters that it's unfair for only four states to be allowed to hold primaries or caucuses in January.
"If you go before February 5, you're basically screwed because you get no delegates," he said. "We've lost 210 delegates. We're the fourth largest state in the nation, and we have zero delegates."
"I'm not asking for a penny, I'm not asking for a dime in this action," DiMaio said. "I'm just asking for my vote to count."
The appellate court is not expected to deliver a decision until next month.
Steinberg, who is handling the case pro bono, said that if the ruling goes against DiMaio, he will appeal to the Supreme Court. E-mail to a friend 
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