Minnesota Voters Alliance et al v. City of Minneapolis
Filing
25
MEMORANDUM OF LAW &ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: Plaintiffs' Motion for Temporary Restraining Order #7 is DENIED. (Written Opinion) Signed by Judge Michael J. Davis on 10/16/2020. (GRR)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA VOTERS ALLIANCE, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
MEMORANDUM OF LAW & ORDER
Civil File No. 20-2049 (MJD/TNL)
CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS,
Defendant.
Erick G. Kaardal, Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson, P.A., Counsel for Plaintiffs.
Gregory P. Sautter, Office of the City Attorney; and Charles N. Nauen, Kristen G.
Marttila, and David J. Zoll, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P.; Counsel for
Defendant.
I.
INTRODUCTION
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Temporary
Restraining Order. [Docket No. 7]
II.
SUMMARY
Because Plaintiffs cannot show standing, the Court denies Plaintiffs’
motion. The City of Minneapolis is one of 22 Minnesota municipalities 1 that
(Marttila Decl., Ex. C. at 17, https://www.techandciviclife.org/amistadstatement/.)
1
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applied for and was awarded a COVID-19 Response Grant from the Center for
Tech and Civic Life to assist with the substantial costs entailed with
administering an election during a global pandemic. Plaintiffs allege no injury to
their right to vote caused by the City’s actions. For example, nowhere do they
allege that they will be unable to cast a ballot, or that they will be forced to
choose between voting under unsafe pandemic conditions and not voting at all.
The City’s actions in applying for and accepting the grant and using the grant
money to improve all manners of voting in Minneapolis in the 2020 election
affect all Minneapolis voters equally. All individual Plaintiffs are Minneapolis
voters. Plaintiffs fail to explain how they will be uniquely affected by
Minneapolis’s actions.
III.
BACKGROUND
A.
Factual Background
1.
The Parties
Plaintiff Minnesota Voters Alliance is a non-profit Minnesota corporation
with the stated purpose of seeking public confidence in the integrity of
Minnesota’s elections and protecting the constitutional rights of its members.
(Compl. ¶ 4.) Plaintiffs Ronald Moey, Marissa Skaja, Charles Halverson, and
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Blair Johnson are all members of the Minnesota Voters Alliance, residents of
Minneapolis, and eligible Minnesota voters. (Id. ¶¶ 4-8.)
Defendant City of Minneapolis (the “City”) is a Minnesota municipality.
(Compl. ¶ 9.) The City administers elections and, typically, funds the entire cost
of administering elections within the City. (Wachlarowicz Decl. ¶ 5.) For
example, the City spent $2.3 million to administer the 2016 general election and
received no funding from the state or federal government to cover the City’s
costs of administering that election. (Id.) The City’s responsibility to self-fund
federal elections within its boundaries is typical. As a recent Congressional
Research Service report noted:
States typically have primary responsibility for making decisions
about the rules of elections (policymaking). Localities typically have
primary responsibility for conducting elections in accordance with
those rules (implementation). Localities, with varying contributions
from states, typically also have primary responsibility for paying for
the activities and resources required to conduct elections (funding).
See Congressional Research Service, The State and Local Role in Election
Administration: Duties and Structures, at Summary (Mar. 4, 2019), available at
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45549.pdf (last visited Oct. 13, 2020).
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2.
Center for Tech and Civic Life COVID-19 Response Grants
The Center for Tech and Civic Life (“CTCL”) is a nonprofit organization
founded in 2012, with a goal of “working to foster a more informed and engaged
democracy, and helping to modernize elections.” (Compl. ¶¶ 26-27, 29.) In June
2020, CTCL partnered with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (“EAC”), a
bipartisan commission established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002
(“HAVA”), Pub. L. No. 107–252, 116 Stat. 1666 (2002) (codified at 52 U.S.C. §§
20901-21145), to offer a free, three-part course on election cybersecurity to local
election offices across the country, particularly aimed at those with limited
technology resources. (Marttila Decl., Ex. B.) Plaintiffs assert that CTCL is a
progressive organization and points to the fact that its three founders previously
worked for the New Organizing Institute, which trained progressive groups and
Democratic campaigns in digital campaign strategies. (Compl. ¶¶ 31, 38.)
Plaintiffs further claim that CTCL “targets urban cities for its private federal
election grants to turn out the progressive vote in the urban cities.” (Id. ¶ 38.)
This year, CTCL is providing COVID-19 Response Grants to local election
offices to help ensure they have the “staffing, training and equipment necessary
so this November every eligible voter can participate in a safe and timely way
and have their vote counted.” (Kaardal Decl., Ex. A at 1-3.) CTCL awarded
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COVID-19 Response Grants to various local election offices throughout the
summer of 2020 to assist with the substantial costs entailed with administering
an election during a global pandemic. (Marttila Decl., Exs. D-E.) On September
1, 2020, it was publicly announced that Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan
would donate $250 million to CTCL to provide funding for additional COVID-19
Response Grants to local election offices. (Compl. ¶¶ 36-37; Kaardal Decl., Ex. B
at 2; Wachlarowicz Decl. ¶ 9.)
CTCL’s grant program provides funding in four areas: ensuring safe and
efficient administration on Election Day; expanding voter education and
outreach efforts; launching poll worker recruitment, training, and safety efforts;
and supporting early in-person and mail-in voting efforts. (Marttila Decl., Ex. H
at 4-5.) Any local election office responsible for those types of election activities
is eligible to apply to CTCL’s COVID-19 Response Grant program; CTCL
approves every eligible election department for a grant; and, unless the applicant
specifically requests a lesser amount, each election department will receive a
minimum award of $5,000. (Id. at 2; Marttila Decl., Ex. G at 4.) More than 1,100
jurisdictions have applied so far, in almost every state, with most applicants
serving jurisdictions with fewer than 25,000 registered voters. (Marttila Decl., Ex.
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H at 1-3.) In Minnesota, CTCL has awarded grants to a variety of local election
offices, including Albertville, Becker, Watertown, and 19 other jurisdictions.
(Marttila Decl., Ex. C. at 17.)
3.
The City’s COVID-19 Response Grant
The City first became aware of its eligibility to apply for a CTCL grant on
August 20, 2020. (Wachlarowicz Decl. ¶ 2.) City staff concluded that the grant
could help alleviate the budget challenges facing the City as it prepared to
administer the 2020 general election. (Id. ¶ 3.) During the week of August 24,
the City began working to prepare a grant application. (Id. ¶ 4.)
In 2020, the City will receive $284,229 from Hennepin County’s
distribution of federal CARES Act funding for election work specific to COVID19. (Wachlarowicz Decl. ¶ 6; Wachlarowicz Decl., Ex. 2.) However, the City has
not received and does not expect to receive any other state or federal funds,
including HAVA funds, to defray the costs of administering the 2020 general
election. (Wachlarowicz Decl. ¶ 6.) The City claims that the CARES Act funds
do not cover the cost of administering a general election in a way that comports
with the governor’s state of emergency and public-health guidance during this
global pandemic, particularly given the high voter turnout that the City
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anticipates. (Id. ¶ 7.) The City asserts that, given the economic fallout from the
pandemic and the City’s needs following the civil unrest this summer, it would
be extremely difficult to secure additional money from the City’s general fund to
adapt the City’s election administration to provide a safe, secure, and efficient
voting experience for City voters during this election. (Id. ¶ 8.)
The City applied for $2,297,342 in grant funds from CTCL and was
awarded the full amount requested. (Wachlarowicz Decl. ¶¶ 13-14;
Wachlarowicz Decl., Exs. 1, 4, 5.) The City Council voted, and the Mayor agreed,
to apply for and accept the grant funds, and the acceptance will occur on or after
October 10, 2020, after publication requirements are satisfied. (Wachlarowicz
Decl. ¶¶ 13, 15; Wachlarowicz Decl., Exs. 4, 6.)
The City will allocate the grant money as follows:
Use
Absentee Ballot Assembly and
Processing Equipment:
Additional staff and overtime
Letter openers
Facility expansion
Vehicle rental
Mailing and printing supplies
Early Voting Sites and Ballot Drop-off
Options:
Additional staff for primary
Signage
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Amount
$2,082,312
($1,816,203 of which is for
expenses related to the general
election, and $266,109 of which
reimburses expenses from the
August primary)
$48,900
($17,500 of which is for expenses
relating to the general election,
and $31,400 of which reimburses
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Plexiglass barriers
Printing
Outdoor supplies
In-person Voting at Polling Places on
Election Day:
Materials like tape to mark social
distancing, electrical cords, and door
stops
Printing for COVID-specific signage
Secure Drop Boxes:
Ballot boxes
Transfer containers
Outdoor supplies
Signage
Printing
Staff
Vehicle
Pallet jack
Voter Outreach and Education
Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”):
Masks and face shields for staff and voters
Sanitizer
Disposable gloves
TOTAL
expenses from the August
primary)
$3,295
$82,525
$50,000
$30,310
$2,297,342
(Wachlarowicz, Ex.1 at 4-9.)
B.
Procedural History
On September 24, 2020, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint against the City in this
Court, which asserts Count One: “The City of Minneapolis acts ultra vires,
without legal authority, to form a public-private partnership for federal election
administration with CTCL by accepting and using CTCL’s private federal
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election grant, because preemption applies under the Elections Clause,
Supremacy Clause, HAVA, and NVRA.”
Plaintiffs now seek a temporary restraining order enjoining the City from
accepting or using CTCL’s private federal election grant and any other private
federal election grant.
IV.
DISCUSSION
A.
Standing Standard
Before the Court can address the merits of Plaintiffs’ motion, it must first
address the question of standing.
To seek injunctive relief, a plaintiff must show that he is under
threat of suffering “injury in fact” that is concrete and particularized;
the threat must be actual and imminent, not conjectural or
hypothetical; it must be fairly traceable to the challenged action of
the defendant; and it must be likely that a favorable judicial decision
will prevent or redress the injury.
Summers v. Earth Island Inst., 555 U.S. 488, 493 (2009) (citation omitted). See also
Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, 573 U.S. 149, 157-58 (2014) (“To establish
Article III standing, a plaintiff must show (1) an ‘injury in fact,’ (2) a sufficient
‘causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of,’ and (3) a
‘likelihood’ that the injury ‘will be redressed by a favorable decision.’”) (citation
omitted).
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This requirement assures that there is a real need to exercise the
power of judicial review in order to protect the interests of the
complaining party. Where that need does not exist, allowing courts
to oversee legislative or executive action would significantly alter
the allocation of power . . . away from a democratic form of
government.
Summers, 555 U.S. at 493 (citations omitted).
A party invoking federal jurisdiction must support each of the
standing requirements with the same kind and degree of evidence at
the successive stages of litigation as any other matter on which a
plaintiff bears the burden of proof.
Constitution Party of S.D. v. Nelson, 639 F.3d 417, 420 (8th Cir. 2011) (citing
Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561 (1992)). “At this stage, [the Court]
assume[s] that the allegations in the complaint are true and view them in the
light most favorable to [Plaintiffs].” Jones v. Jegley, 947 F.3d 1100, 1103 (8th Cir.
2020). Trial courts have “wide discretion” “to consider affidavits and other
evidence of ‘disputed jurisdictional facts’ at the pleading stage.” Id. at 1104 (8th
Cir. 2020) (citing Davis v. Anthony, Inc., 886 F.3d 674, 677 (8th Cir. 2018)).
B.
Plaintiffs’ Failure to Establish Standing
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1.
Alleged Statutory and Constitutional Violations and the
Existence of a Private Right of Action
Plaintiffs assert that the City’s act of applying for and accepting the CTCL
grant is preempted by various statutes and constitutional provisions. They base
their claim on conflict preemption.
“The general law of preemption is grounded in the Constitution’s
command that federal law ‘shall be the supreme Law of the Land.’ U.S. Const.
art. VI, cl. 2.” In re Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk Mktg. & Sales Practices
Litig., 621 F.3d 781, 791 (8th Cir. 2010). “Thus state law that conflicts with federal
law has no effect.” Id. (citation omitted). “Conflict preemption exists where a
party’s compliance with both federal and state law would be impossible or
where state law would pose an obstacle to the accomplishment of congressional
objectives.” Id. at 794 (citation omitted).
Plaintiffs’ bare claims that the City has violated various laws are
insufficient to satisfy the injury-in-fact requirement. The Supreme Court has
consistently held that a plaintiff raising only a generally available
grievance about government—claiming only harm to his and every
citizen’s interest in proper application of the Constitution and laws,
and seeking relief that no more directly and tangibly benefits him
than it does the public at large—does not state an Article III case or
controversy.
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Lance v. Coffman, 549 U.S. 437, 439 (2007) (citation omitted). Federal courts
“refus[e] to serve as a forum for generalized grievances” that do not reflect a
personal stake in the resolution of the issues sought to be adjudicated. Id. When
“[t]he only injury plaintiffs allege is that the law . . . has not been followed,” that
“is precisely the kind of undifferentiated, generalized grievance about the
conduct of government that [federal courts] have refused to countenance.” Id. at
442; see also id. at 439-42 (collecting and examining cases).
2.
Existence of a Private Right of Action
Plaintiffs’ arguments that the statutes or constitutional provisions under
which they sue provide them private rights of action cannot establish standing.
The fact that a statute provides a private right of action is insufficient to provide
standing. See, e.g., Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540, 1547-48, (2016).
Conversely, when it is clear that Plaintiffs do not have a private right of
action, Plaintiffs do lack standing to assert that claim. “Because standing is
determined by the specific claims presented, whether [the plaintiffs] have
standing depends on whether the statute at issue[] creates an express or implied
private right of action.” Howe v. Ellenbecker, 8 F.3d 1258, 1261 (8th Cir. 1993)
(citations omitted), abrogated by Blessing v. Freestone, 520 U.S. 329 (1997).
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When analyzing standing, “[a] federal court must ask ‘whether the constitutional
or statutory provision on which the claim rests properly can be understood as
granting persons in the plaintiff’s position a right to judicial relief.’” Roberts v.
Wamser, 883 F.2d 617, 620 (8th Cir. 1989) (quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490,
500 (1975)). “Without a private right of action to enforce [the statute under
which he or she sues], [the plaintiff] lacks standing to bring suit in federal district
court.” Leach v. Mediacom, 240 F. Supp. 2d 994, 996 (S.D. Iowa 2003), aff’d, 373
F.3d 895 (8th Cir. 2004) (citing Warth, 422 U.S. at 500–01; Howe, 8 F.3d at 1261).
Here, Plaintiffs clearly lack a private right of action under four of the five
statutes and constitutional provisions upon which they rely.
a)
Supremacy Clause
The Supremacy Clause provides:
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be
made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be
made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the
supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be
bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to
the Contrary notwithstanding.
U.S. Const., art. VI, § 2. The Supremacy Clause is the source of federal
preemption doctrine. See, e.g., Del. & Hudson Ry. Co., Inc. v. Knoedler Mfrs.,
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Inc., 781 F.3d 656, 660-61 (3d Cir. 2015) (“Congressional power to preempt state
law derives from the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution . . . .”).
The Supreme Court has explicitly held that the Supremacy Clause
“certainly” does not create a private right of action. Armstrong v. Exceptional
Child Ctr., Inc., 135 S. Ct. 1378, 1383 (2015). Therefore, to the extent Plaintiffs
assert a claim based solely on the assertion that the City’s action is barred or
preempted by the Supremacy Clause, they lack standing.
b)
HAVA
In the wake of the 2000 presidential election, Congress enacted
HAVA. HAVA’s purpose as set forth in the preface is:
To establish a program to provide funds to States to replace punch
card voting systems, to establish the Election Assistance
Commission to assist in the administration of Federal elections and
to otherwise provide assistance with the administration of certain
Federal election laws and programs, to establish minimum election
administration standards for States and units of local government
with responsibility for the administration of Federal elections, and
for other purposes.
Crowley v. Nev. ex rel. Nev. Sec’y of State, 678 F.3d 730, 734 (9th Cir. 2012).
HAVA does not create a private right of action. See, e.g., Am. Civil Rights
Union v. Philadelphia City Comm’rs, 872 F.3d 175, 184-85 (3d Cir. 2007).
“Congress established only two HAVA enforcement mechanisms: (1) a civil
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action brought by the Attorney General, and (2) a state-based administrative
complaint procedure.” Bellitto v. Snipes, 935 F.3d 1192, 1202 (11th Cir. 2019)
(citing 52 U.S.C. §§ 21111, 21112). See also Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party, 555
U.S. 5, 6 (2008) (vacating temporary restraining order because there is likely no
private right of action under HAVA based on a private litigant’s claim of vote
dilution).
The fact that HAVA requires states to create an administrative procedure
to allow filing of HAVA complaints that provides the “appropriate remedy” if
the state determines that there was a violation, 52 U.S.C. § 21112(a), and that
Plaintiffs consider Minnesota’s procedure to be inadequate because it does not
allow for temporary restraining orders does not provide a basis for creation of a
private right of action. First, there is no indication that Minnesota’s HAVA
complaint procedure is inadequate: HAVA lists the requirements for a state
administrative procedure, and Plaintiffs fail to cite to any of these listed
requirements that are not fulfilled by Minnesota’s complaint procedure. See 52
U.S.C. § 21112(a)(2); Minn. Stat. § 200.04. (See also Marttila Decl., Ex. J, Minn.
HAVA Elections Complaint Form.) HAVA requires a state to make a
determination within 90 days of the filing of the complaint, not any lesser period
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of time, and it does not require expedited equitable relief. 52 U.S.C. §
21112(a)(2)(H). Minnesota’s procedure requires a final determination, including
if necessary, a remedial plan, “no later than 90 days after the filing of the
complaint.” Minn. Stat. § 200.04, subds. 2(f), 3(f). Second, regardless of the
structure of Minnesota complaint system, the Attorney General has the ability to
“bring a civil action against any State or jurisdiction . . . . for such declaratory and
injunctive relief (including a temporary restraining order, a permanent or
temporary injunction, or other order) as may be necessary.” 52 U.S.C. § 21111.
Third, even if Minnesota’s administrative procedure were inadequate, HAVA
provides the remedy for inadequate procedures – if inadequate procedures are
found during a federal audit, the state is to return that portion of the HAVA
funds that were affected. See 52 U.S.C. §§ 21142(b)(1), (c).
Because HAVA does not provide Plaintiffs a private right of action, they
lack standing to assert a claim under HAVA.
c)
National Voters Registration Act
Plaintiffs also claim that the National Voter Registration Act, 52 U.S.C. §§
20501-20511 (“NVRA”) preempts the City’s acceptance and use of the CTCL
grant. The purposes of the NVRA are
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(1) to establish procedures that will increase the number of eligible
citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office;
(2) to make it possible for Federal, State, and local governments to
implement this chapter in a manner that enhances the participation
of eligible citizens as voters in elections for Federal office;
(3) to protect the integrity of the electoral process; and
(4) to ensure that accurate and current voter registration rolls are
maintained.
52 U.S.C. § 20501(b). Through the NVRA, Congress enacted national
requirements for voter registration for federal elections. See 52 U.S.C. § 20503,
20504. Minnesota is exempt from the NVRA. See 52 U.S.C. § 20503(b)(2); see also
Department of Justice, NVRA Overview at https://www.justice.gov/crt/nationalvoter-registration-act-1993-nvra (last visited Oct. 15, 2020).
Plaintiffs have no standing to bring a claim under the NVRA. First, the
NVRA only permits a private right of action for individuals who are “aggrieved
by a violation” of the statute, 52 U.S.C. § 20510(b)(1), that is “persons who allege
that their rights to vote in an election for federal office have been impaired by a
violation of the NVRA.” Dobrovolny v. Neb., 100 F. Supp. 2d 1012, 1031 (D. Neb.
2000). see also Krislov v. Rednour, 946 F. Supp. 563, 566 (N.D. Ill. 1996)
(“Standing under the NVRA is limited to the United States Attorney General and
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the ‘aggrieved persons’ whose voting rights have been denied or impaired.”).
Plaintiffs do not allege that their ability to vote in the 2020 election is in any way
impaired by the City’s actions. Minnesota Voters Alliance does not have the
ability to vote. Individual Plaintiffs are all Minnesota voters who reside in
Minneapolis. As Minneapolis voters, they are beneficiaries of the City’s use of
the grant money to make voting safer and more efficient. An attenuated
argument that Plaintiffs will be unhappy with the election results if their fellow
Minneapolis residents can also safely vote during a pandemic does not show that
Plaintiffs’ own voting rights have been impaired or denied. Second, Minnesota is
exempt from the NVRA. There is no basis to conclude that a statute, from which
Minnesota is exempt, grants a private right of action for Plaintiffs to sue claiming
that the statute preempts a Minnesota city from acting to enhance Plaintiffs’
ability to vote.
d)
Minnesota Criminal Bribery Statute
Plaintiffs also base their claim on Minnesota Statute § 609.42, subdivision
1(2). The statute provides:
Whoever does any of the following is guilty of bribery and may be
sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten years or to
payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both:
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(1) offers, gives, or promises to give, directly or indirectly, to any
person who is a public officer or employee any benefit, reward or
consideration to which the person is not legally entitled with intent
thereby to influence the person’s performance of the powers or
duties as such officer or employee; or
(2) being a public officer or employee, requests, receives or agrees to
receive, directly or indirectly, any such benefit, reward or
consideration upon the understanding that it will have such an
influence; . . .
Minn. Stat. § 609.42, subd. 1.
Plaintiffs asserts that the City’s acceptance and use of CTCL’s grant
without a state legislative enactment approving the grant constitutes bribery
under subdivision 1(2), because the City allegedly accepted the grant money in
order to induce progressive voters to vote in an election.
Under Minnesota law, “a criminal statute does not automatically give rise
to a civil cause of action unless the statute expressly or by clear implication so
provides.” Larson v. Dunn, 460 N.W.2d 39, 47 n.4 (Minn. 1990). The criminal
bribery statute Plaintiffs cite contains no language providing a civil cause of
action and provides no private right of action “by clear implication.” The Court
concludes that there is no private right of action under § 609.42. Therefore,
Plaintiffs lack standing to assert such a claim.
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3.
Injury Based on the Allegation that the City Is Favoring a
Particular Demographic Group
Overall, Plaintiffs assert that they have standing because the City is
favoring a particular demographic group – urban progressives – and thereby,
suppressing individual Plaintiffs’ vote. (Minnesota Voters Alliance does not
have the right to vote.) Plaintiffs do not allege that the City is taking any action
that is aimed at progressive voters in particular. Rather, Plaintiffs theorize that,
by virtue of the fact that the majority of the City’s voters are progressive, any
action that the City takes to encourage or facilitate voting in general necessarily
favors the demographic group that makes up the majority of the City’s voters.
Plaintiffs rely on Young v. Red Clay Consolidated School District, in which the
Delaware Chancery Court held that “a government can violate the Elections
Clause if it skews the outcome of an election by encouraging and facilitating
voting by favored demographic groups.” 122 A.3d 784, 858 (Del. Ch. 2015).
To the extent that Plaintiffs prefer a particular outcome in the 2020 federal
election, that preference is an interest “‘in their collective representation in
[government],’ and in influencing the [government’s] overall ‘composition and
policymaking.” Gill v. Whitford, 138 S. Ct. 1916, 1931 (2018) (citation omitted).
Such an interest is an “‘undifferentiated, generalized grievance about the
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conduct of government’” that generally does not present “an individual and
personal injury of the kind required for Article III standing.” Id. (citation
omitted). “A citizen’s interest in the overall composition of the legislature is
embodied in his right to vote for his representative. And the citizen’s abstract
interest in policies adopted by the legislature on the facts here is a nonjusticiable
‘general interest common to all members of the public.’” Id. (citation omitted).
Plaintiffs allege no injury to their right to vote. For example, nowhere do
they allege that they will be unable to cast a ballot, or that they will be forced to
choose between voting under unsafe pandemic conditions and not voting at all.
The City’s actions in applying for and accepting the CTCL grant and using the
grant money to improve all manners of voting in Minneapolis in the 2020
election affect all Minneapolis voters equally. All individual Plaintiffs are
Minneapolis voters. Plaintiffs fail to explain how they will be uniquely affected
by Minneapolis’s actions. They assert that, because Minneapolis voters are
statistically more likely to be progressive, Minneapolis’s actions enhancing
voting in general favor progressive voters and thereby suppress Plaintiffs’ votes.
However, as Minneapolis residents, Plaintiffs, themselves, are equal recipients of
Minneapolis’s actions to make voting safer during the pandemic. The City’s
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grant-funded expenditures will make it easier for the individual Plaintiffs to vote
safely for the candidates of their choosing and to have those ballots processed
promptly, no matter which method of casting a ballot they choose. Grant money
will be used to assist with mail-in voting; voting by absentee ballots via a secure
drop box; voting in person at early-voting sites; voting in-person on Election
Day; and voter education to assist voters in choosing how to vote.
(Wachlarowicz Decl., Ex.1 at 6-9.)
This is not a case like Young v. Red Clay Consolidated School District, in
which the plaintiffs claimed that their votes were suppressed to the extent that
they were unable to vote due to the school district’s selective actions encouraging
and assisting voting by students and families to the detriment of elderly voters
and voters with disabilities. 122 A.3d at 858. Here, Plaintiffs make no allegation
that they are unable to access the polls as a result of the City’s expenditures
funded by the grant. Additionally, the school district in Young made a strategic
decision to use demographic targeting expressly intended to “diminish[] the
voting rights of one portion of the electorate and enhance[] the voting rights of
another portion of the electorate.” Id. Plaintiffs make no allegation that the City
will spend grant funds to encourage only one portion of the City’s electorate to
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vote and to discourage another portion of the City’s electorate. Here, the City
has sought grant funds to facilitate safe voting by all eligible voters within its
boundaries, which includes Plaintiffs.
In sum,
[t]he only injury plaintiffs allege is that the law—specifically the
Elections Clause—has not been followed. This injury is precisely the
kind of undifferentiated, generalized grievance about the conduct of
government that we have refused to countenance in the past. It is
quite different from the sorts of injuries alleged by plaintiffs in
voting rights cases where we have found standing.
Lance, 549 U.S. at 442. Plaintiffs’ is the type of generalized and speculative
grievance that is insufficient to confer standing. See, e.g., Carson v. Simon, Civil
File No. 20-2030 (NEB/TNL), 2020 WL 6018957, at *7 (D. Minn. Oct. 12, 2020)
(gathering cases).
4.
Redressability
The Court further notes that the defendant in this matter is the City of
Minneapolis, and the City alone. CTCL is not a named defendant. Plaintiffs do
not seek – and the Court does not have the power to grant – any injunctive relief
against CTCL. Plaintiffs’ accusations that CTCL is targeting grants to other
jurisdictions based on their political leanings in an attempt to influence the result
of the presidential election is irrelevant to the claims in this case, which are
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brought only by Minneapolis voters and the organization to which they belong
against the City of Minneapolis. The only pertinent questions are whether the
City has caused or will cause injury to Plaintiffs and whether Plaintiffs’
grievances can be redressed by this Court’s injunction against the City. The
answer to those questions is a clear “no.”
5.
Minnesota Voters Alliance’s Standing
An organizational plaintiff, such as Minnesota Voters Alliance, must
demonstrate either that it has standing “in its own right” because the
organization itself has suffered a legally sufficient harm, or “as the representative
of its members.” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 511, 515 (1975). To have standing
in its own right, an organization must have suffered its own injury-in-fact that
gives it “a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy,” which is caused by
the City’s conduct and is redressable by a favorable litigation outcome. Havens
Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 378-79 (1982). The organization’s claimed
injury must be “more than simply a setback to the organization’s abstract societal
interests.” Id. at 379. In order to show that it has standing to sue on behalf of its
members, an organization’s members must otherwise have standing to sue in
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their own right. Hunt v. Wash. State Apple Advertising Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333,
343 (1977).
Minnesota Voters Alliance identifies no concrete injury that is distinct from
the injury it ascribes to its membership. “[G]eneral complaints about electoral
outcomes are nonjusticiable.” Pavek v. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., 967
F.3d 905, 907 n.2 (8th Cir. 2020) (citing Gill v. Whitford, 138 S. Ct. 1916, 1931
(2018)). Minnesota Voters Alliance fails to establish standing in its own right. It
cannot establish representational standing because its members, individual
Plaintiffs, cannot establish standing. Thus, Minnesota Voters Alliance lacks
standing.
Because no Plaintiff can show standing, Plaintiffs’ motion is denied, and
the Court does not reach the merits, or lack thereof, of Plaintiffs’ claims.
Accordingly, based upon the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED:
Plaintiffs’ Motion for Temporary Restraining Order [Docket No. 7] is
DENIED.
Dated: October 16, 2020
s/ Michael J. Davis
Michael J. Davis
United States District Court
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