Lee et al v. Virginia State Board of Elections, et al

Filing 153

MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by District Judge Henry E. Hudson on 02/10/2016. (tjoh, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Richmond Division

BARBARA H. LEE, et ai.

Plaintiffs,
Civil Action No. 3:15CV357-HEH
VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF

ELECTIONS, etal.
Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

(Defendants' Motion to Exclude Expert Testimony of Lorraine Minnite)
This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Virginia's law requiring voters to

present photographic identification before casting ballots. Presently before the Court is
Defendants' Motion to Exclude ExpertTestimony of Lorraine Minnite as both irrelevant
and unreliable. Defendants contend that her conclusions are analytically unsound and
founded on questionable data and sources.

Among the experts designated by Plaintiffs in this case is Dr. Lorraine C. Minnite
("Dr. Minnite"), an associate professor of political science at Rutgers University. As
required by this Court's discovery order. Dr. Minnite filed an extensive expert report

detailing her "expert analyses and opinions regarding the incidence of voter fraud in
American elections; the reasons for allegations of widespread voter fraud; and voting
restrictions, both in elections nationwide and in the Commonwealth of Virginia." (Defs.'

Mot. to Exclude Expert Test., Ex. A at 3, hereinafter"Expert Report," EC? No. 130-1.)
Dr. Minnite concludes in her expert report that widespread allegations of voter fraud as

rampant are unsupported by empirical evidence. Her research has convinced her that the
incidents of voter fraud in Virginia—and nationally—are exceedingly rare but not

nonexistent. Finally, Dr. Minnite concludes that "[h]aving no basis in fact, [allegations

of widespread voter fraud] are usually motivated by political interests, and are designed
to make voting harder for certain populations." (Expert Report 3.)

This Court has thoroughly reviewed Dr. Minnite's expert report, as well as

memoranda filed by each party supporting their respective positions. Theadmissibility

of expert testimony is governed by Federal Rule ofEvidence 702.'
Application ofRule 702 is further informed by the teachings ofDaubert v. Merrell
Dow Pharms. Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), and Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526
U.S. 137 (1999). Importantly, the standards articulated in Daubertdo not turn on
*

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whether the proffered opinion is correct, but whether its foundation is reliable. In

describing the gate-keeping function established in Daubert, the Court held that the
Federal Rules of Evidence "assign to the trial judge the task of ensuring that an expert's

testimony both rests on a reliable foundation and is relevant to the task at hand."
Daubert, 509 U.S. at 597. Another critical consideration is whether the expert's opinion
' Federal Rule of Evidence 702 states:

A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training,
or education maytestily in the form of an opinion or otherwise if:
(a) the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the
trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue;

(b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data;

(c)the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and
(d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the
case.

^The test of reliability discussed in Daubert is"'flexible,' and Daubert's list of specific factors
neither necessarily nor exclusively applies to all experts or in every case." Kumho Tire Co., 526
U.S. at 141. The law grants wide latitude to a district court in assessing reliability. Id. at 142.

would be potentially helpful to the trier of fact. See UnitedStates v. Lespier, 725 F.3d
437, 449; cert, denied, 134 S. Ct. 974 (2014). Although the rule announced in Daubert

focused on scientific testimony, the United States Supreme Court in Kumho Tire clarified
its broader application to all expert testimony falling within the ambit of Rule 702.
Kumho Tire, 526 U.S. at 141.

The Defendants' challenge has two broad facets: Dr. Minnite's opinion is

unmoored to the specific facts of the case at hand, and "there is simply too great an

analytical gap between the data and the opinion proffered." (Defs.' Mot. to Exclude 3,
ECF No. 130.) Statistically, the Defendants maintain thatDr. Minnite employs an overly
restrictive definition of voter fraud, namely "the intentional corruption of the voting

process by voters." {Id.) Defendants further point out that Dr. Minnite's analysis relies
only on reports ofvoter fraud which result in prosecution. In their view, her opinion
seems to imply that if a reported incident ofvoter orelection fraud does not result in an

actual prosecution, it is either unfounded or irrelevant.^ Defendants also take issue with
Dr. Minnite's conclusion that the issue of voter fraud is politically contrived and that

voter identification laws are irrational and serve no public policy purpose. (Defs.' Mot.

to Exclude 4.) Based on the absence of any compelling reason supporting the General
Assembly's enactment of the voter ID law. Defendants argue that Dr. Minnite appears to
conclude that its only logical purpose is suppression of minority votes.
Plaintiffs counter that Dr. Minnite is a "preeminent expert on voter fraud in

^InVirginia, discretion to determine which cases merit prosecution is vested by statute in elected
Commonwealth's Attorneys in each jurisdiction. Va. Code § 15.2-1627(8).
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American elections." (Pis.' Opp'n to Mot. to Exclude 2, ECF No. 137.) They add that
"not a single court has questioned her qualifications to offer expert testimony in cases
like this one." {Id.) Plaintiffs note that other courts and respected social scientists have

uniformly accepted her methodology and research in the area of voter fraud. {Id.)
Plaintiffs maintain that Dr. Minnite's expert opinion is highly relevant to this

Court's assessment of the General Assembly's rationale for adopting the voter ID law in
question and whether it presents a genuine threat to the electoral process.

The overarching hypothesis of Dr. Minnite's analysis of voter fraud prosecution

statistics is that there is simply no rational basis for the General Assembly's enactment of
the voter ID law in the Commonwealth of Virginia—despite the fact that over two dozen

other states have done so. (Expert Report 15, n.44; 16, n.46.) Defendants are correct that

her statistical base marginalizes allegations which do not result in prosecution. (Expert

Report 21.) Dr. Minnite also acknowledges that there appears to be no reliable database
or tracking system to assess with accuracy the number ofcomplaints or allegations of
voter fraud in Virginia. She maintains that her research has revealed that most reported
election irregularities do not involve actual fraud {id. 9-14) and would not affect the
outcome of elections.'* Drawing on this deduction, she concludes that there is no
systemic problem of voter fraud in Virginia warranting legislative action.
Dr. Minnite's viewpoint is arguably at odds with the Supreme Court's opinion in
Crawfordv. Marion County Election Board where the Court observed that the voter

Dr. Minnite does not conclude that voter fraud is nonexistent, but only that "it rarely exists.
(Pis.' Opp'n to Mot. to Exclude 5.)
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identification law passed in Indiana was "amply justified by the valid interest in

protecting 'the integrity and reliability of the electoral process.'" 553 U.S. 181,204
(2008) (internal citations omitted). In Crawford, Justice Stevens writing for the court,

closely related to the State's interest in preventing voter fraud, public
confidence in the integrity of the electoral process has independent

significance, because it encourages citizen participation in the democratic
process. As the Carter-Baker Report observed, the electoral system cannot
inspire public confidence if no safeguards exist to deter or detect fraud or to
confirm the identity of the voters.

Id. at 197 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Much of Dr. Minnite's expert

opinion appears to take issue with the reasoning of the court in Crawford.
In the final analysis, this Court concurs with Plaintiffs that Dr. Minnite's expert

opinion on the extent ofvoter fraud in the Commonwealth ofVirginia, and its effect on
the electoral process, is sufficiently relevant and reliable to satisfy the standard
articulated in Daubert. 509 U.S. at 589.^ The depth of data relied upon by Dr. Minnite is

grist for the cross-examination mill, not a bar to admissibility. Her assessment ofthe
effect of voter fraud on the integrity of the electoral process stands on equal footing. This

Court, however, hastens to add that the task of assessing the magnitude of a perceived

problem and determining what legislative action is appropriate is the statutory and
constitutional duty of the General Assembly.

While the Court will deny Defendants' Motion to Exclude Dr. Minnite's testimony

in its entirety, some limitations are appropriate. Dr. Minnite will not bepermitted to
comment on the wisdom or reasoning of the Supreme Court's decision in Crawford.
^Ofcourse, Dr. Minnite's opinion must bepremised on an appropriate foundation and otherwise
comply with the Rules of Evidence.
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Furthermore, she may not speculate or opine on the deliberative process or motives of the
General Assembly, or any of its members, without evidentiary support.

An appropriate Order will accompany this Memorandum Opinion.

/s/

Henry E. Hudson
United States District Judge

Datedi'^g.Va. \g 'Z.ttG
Richmond, Virginia