Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now v. Fowler

• Citation: 178 F.3d 350
• Decision Date: 10 June 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-30145,98-30145
• Parties: ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jerry M. FOWLER, in his official capacity as Commissioner of Elections and Registration, State of Louisiana; Mike Foster, Governor, State of Louisiana, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Louisiana; Richard Stalder, in his capacity as Secretary of Department of Public Safety and Corrections; Madeline Bagneris, in her official capacity as Secretary of the Department of Social Services; Bobby Jindal, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

Page 350

178 F.3d 350

ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jerry M. FOWLER, in his official capacity as Commissioner of

Elections and Registration, State of Louisiana; Mike Foster,

Governor, State of Louisiana, in his official capacity as

Governor of the State of Louisiana; Richard Stalder, in his

capacity as Secretary of Department of Public Safety and

Corrections; Madeline Bagneris, in her official capacity as

Secretary of the Department of Social Services; Bobby

Jindal, in his official capacity as Secretary of the

Department of Health and Hospitals, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 98-30145.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

June 10, 1999.

Alexandra Erna Mora, Spencer Livingston, Citizens Consulting, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Celia Rhea Cangelosi, Baton Rouge, LA, for Fowler.

Angie Rogers LaPlace, Roy A. Mongrue, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, LA, for Foster, Stalder, Bagneris and Jindal.

Juan Cartagena, Community Serv. Soc. of New York, New York City, for Community Serv. Soc. of New York, League of Women Voters of the U.S., Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Asian American Legal Defense and Educ. Fund, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Inc., Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Educ. Fund and NAACP Legal Defense and Educ. Fund, Inc., Amicus Curiae.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Before KING, Chief Judge, and POLITZ and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.

KING, Chief Judge:

Plaintiff-appellant Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now brought this suit in federal district court against state officials alleging that Louisiana's voter registration procedures violate the National Voter Registration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg. The district court granted summary judgment to the state officials on standing grounds. On appeal, plaintiff-appellant argues that it has standing to bring each of its three claims as an organization and as a representative of its individual members. We conclude that plaintiff-appellant has raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether it has standing to sue on its own behalf with respect to one of its claims, its contention that defendants-appellees have failed to make voter registration materials and services available at voter registration agencies. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants-appellees on all other grounds.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This suit arises out of efforts by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to force the State of Louisiana to comply with certain provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (the NVRA or Act), 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg. ACORN is a national, nonprofit, membership corporation that seeks to advance the interests of people with low and moderate incomes. According to affidavits from ACORN members, ACORN views its involvement in voter registration efforts as integral to the furtherance of this mission. According to these members, ACORN was involved in efforts to secure the passage of the NVRA, and also devotes resources to promoting voter registration by conducting voter registration drives, monitoring compliance with the NVRA, and participating in litigation aimed at enforcing the NVRA.

Congress enacted the NVRA in 1993

(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 [national voter registration] 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.

42 U.S.C. § 1973gg(b). The NVRA requires all non-exempt states to establish certain procedures to facilitate voter registration. See id. § 1973gg-2. Specifically, states must (1) include a voter registration application form for federal elections as part of a state driver's license application, (2) accept voter registration application forms by mail, and (3) designate voter registration agencies, at which voter registration applications, and assistance and acceptance of applications, must be made available. See id. § 1973gg-3 to 1973gg-5.

In addition, the NVRA sets forth requirements with respect to the states' administration of the voter registration process. See id. § 1973gg-6. Under this provision, states must comply with a number of procedures designed to ensure a fair registration process. For example, in § 1973gg-6(d), the Act provides that states may not remove a registrant's name from voting rolls unless the registrant confirms in writing that he or she has moved outside the voting jurisdiction, or the registrant has failed to respond to a notice sent by the state and the registrant has not voted or appeared to vote within a specified time.

The NVRA took effect in Louisiana on January 1, 1995. Shortly after that date, ACORN sued certain Louisiana officials, alleging that Louisiana had refused to implement the Act. ¹ In the spring of 1995, the defendants in that suit settled with ACORN.

According to ACORN, Louisiana has continued to violate the NVRA despite the initial settlement. First, ACORN claims that a Louisiana mail-in driver's license renewal program, which it alleges began in March 1995, violates the Act. Under the program, certain residents with licenses nearing expiration receive renewal applications that can be completed and returned for a renewed license without an in-person application. According to ACORN, Louisiana did not include voter registration applications with these mailings. Second, ACORN asserts that some of the state's designated voter registration agencies are not complying with the NVRA's requirements. ACORN bases this contention on statistics and surveys showing a low rate of registration in Louisiana and disparities in registration within Louisiana. Third, ACORN claims that some previously-registered Louisiana voters believe that their names have been improperly removed from the voter registration rolls.

On June 10, 1996, ACORN reported these complaints to Louisiana in a notice-to-sue letter. ² Thereafter, ACORN provided additional information to Louisiana regarding the alleged NVRA violations, but, after failing to receive sufficient assurances that Louisiana would correct the problems, ACORN filed the instant suit under the NVRA, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as attorneys' fees and costs. ³ ACORN's complaint alleged that the appellees violated the NVRA by (1) using a mail-in form for renewal of driver's licenses that does not allow for simultaneous voter registration, (2) improperly purging registered voters from voter records, and (3) failing to provide the required voter registration opportunities at certain public assistance offices, armed forces recruitment offices, and all offices in Louisiana that provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities.

The parties commenced discovery, and on November 25, 1997, ACORN moved for partial summary judgment. The appellees opposed the summary judgment motion and moved to compel answers to interrogatories regarding details of ACORN's members. Subsequently, ACORN moved for a protective order. A magistrate judge resolved the discovery impasse by directing ACORN to provide identifying information about a limited number of its members who fell into discrete categories of members relevant to the suit. On January 7, 1998, the appellees moved for summary judgment on standing grounds.

The district court granted the appellees' motion for summary judgment on February 3, 1998 and dismissed each of ACORN's claims. The district court analyzed each of the grounds on which ACORN asserted it had standing to maintain suit. First, the district court concluded that ACORN could not sue on its own behalf. According to the district court, because ACORN does not vote and cannot register to vote, it could not qualify as a "person who is aggrieved" under the NVRA and thus lacked organizational standing as a matter of law. Second, the district court rejected ACORN's contention that it had standing as a representative of its individual members. The district court found that ACORN made no specific allegation that any of its members had been aggrieved by Louisiana's alleged failure to provide voting applications with mail-in driver's license renewals, or its failure to comply with the NVRA provision regarding registration at public assistance agencies. In sum, the district court ruled that "the identified ACORN members simply have not suffered or continue to suffer sufficient 'threatened harm' for purposes of standing." Lastly, the district judge determined that ACORN, because it had no right as an organization to vote or register to vote, could not maintain standing to sue for the deprivation of a federal right under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ACORN timely appealed.

II. DISCUSSION

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment on standing grounds de novo. See Palma v. Verex Assurance, Inc., 79 F.3d 1453, 1455-56 (5th Cir.1996); Farm Credit Bank v. Farish, 32 F.3d 184, 189 (5th Cir.1994). Summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED.R.CIV.P. 56(c); see Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). We must view all evidence in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion and draw all reasonable inferences in that party's favor. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (...