Bruni v. Hughs

• Decision Date: 24 June 2020
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:20-CV-35
• Parties: Sylvia BRUNI, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Ruth HUGHS, in her official capacity as the Texas Secretary of State, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

468 F.Supp.3d 817

Sylvia BRUNI, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.Ruth HUGHS, in her official capacity as the Texas Secretary of State, Defendant.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:20-CV-35

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Laredo Division.

Signed June 24, 2020

Bruce Spiva, Daniel Osher, Emily Brailey, Lalitha Madduri, Marc Elias, Perkins Coie LLP, Washington, DC, Skyler Michelle Howton, Perkins Coie LLP, Dallas, TX, for Plaintiffs Sylvia Bruni, DSCC, DCCC, Jessica Tiedt.

Robert L. Meyerhoff, Pro Hac Vice, Texas Democratic Party, Chad W. Dunn, Austin, TX, Bruce Spiva, Daniel Osher, Emily Brailey, Lalitha Madduri, Marc Elias, Perkins Coie LLP, Washington, DC, Skyler Michelle Howton, Perkins Coie LLP, Dallas, TX, for Plaintiff Texas Democratic Party.

Ryan L. Bangert, William Thomas Thompson, Shawn E. Cowles, Todd Lawrence Disher, Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Austin, TX, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Marina Garcia Marmolejo, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit premised on their predicted effects of a forthcoming Texas elections law, which they claim will cause a series of events at polling-places, ultimately resulting in their injuries. Namely, Plaintiffs challenge House Bill 25 (HB 25), which the Texas Legislature passed in 2017 and which will take effect in September 2020. The Bill will remove from the Texas Elections Code the option for Texans to cast their ballots in partisan races using a "straight-ticket vote." According to Plaintiffs, the enforcement of HB 25 will cause longer lines at polling-places, increased roll-off at polling-places, voter confusion at polling-places, and less turnout from Democratic-party voters at polling-places. Plaintiffs claim that the combination of these predicted effects will cause them to suffer several injuries.

Defendant, Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughes, has filed a Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 32) which argues, among other things, that Plaintiffs lack standing. "Standing" is a requirement to sue rooted in Article III of the United States Constitution, which ensures that federal courts confine themselves to their "constitutionality limited role of adjudicating actual and concrete disputes" United States v. Sanchez-Gomez , ––– U.S. ––––, 138 S. Ct. 1532, 1537, 200 L.Ed.2d 792 (2018). Federal courts enforce Article III standing by requiring that a plaintiff satisfy a three-part test, including that she suffered an injury-in-fact. Gil v. Whitford , ––– U.S. ––––, 138 S.Ct. 1916, 1929, 201 L.Ed.2d 313 (2018). A threat of future injury may satisfy Article III provided the injury is "certainly impending." Clapper v. Amnesty Intern USA , 568 U.S. 398, 409, 133 S.Ct. 1138, 185 L.Ed.2d 264 (2013). This action calls the Court to decide whether Plaintiffs’ injuries satisfy that constitutionally mandated standard.

The Court has carefully reviewed the parties’ arguments, the record, and the applicable law. Having found that Plaintiffs’ injuries rest on numerous suppositions that are uncertain to occur and that the occurrence of Plaintiffs’ injuries depends on decisions of third parties who are not before the Court, the Court finds that Plaintiffs’ injuries are not certainly impending and fail to satisfy Article III. Thus, the Secretary's Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 32) is hereby GRANTED , and this action is DISISSED WITHOUT PREJUDUICE .

I. Background

As it stands, the Texas Election Code allows Texans to cast their ballots in statewide elections by "casting a straight-party vote," a practice known as "straight-ticket voting." TEX. ELEC. CODE. § 62.011. Straight-ticket voting "allows a voter to vote for all candidates of their desired political party by making a single mark designating the selection of that political party, rather than voting for each partisan candidate individually." Mich. State A. Philip Randolph Inst. v. Johnson , 833 F.3d 656, 660 (6th Cir. 2016). In 2017, the Texas Legislature passed HB 25, which will eliminate from the Texas Elections Code the option for Texans to cast a straight-ticket vote in partisan races. See 2017 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 404.¹ Although the Legislature passed HB 25 in 2017, the Bill takes effect in September 2020. Id.

There are five Plaintiffs in this case: (1) Sylvia Bruni, an elected official for the Webb County Democratic Party, (2) the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, (3) the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, (4) the Texas Democratic Party, and (5) Jessica Tiedt, a candidate for District 20 of the Texas House of Representatives (Dkt. No. 16). Plaintiffs allege that the enforcement of HB 25 will violate the First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (id. ). They filed this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 against the sole Defendant, Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughes, who is tasked with adopting rules for the elimination of straight-ticket voting. See 2017 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 404. Ultimately, Plaintiffs seek an injunction to stop HB 25 from taking effect and a declaration that the Bill violates the above-named provisions of the Constitution and Voting Rights Act (Dkt. No. 16).

Plaintiffs make nine discrete factual allegations in their complaint, which, at this stage of the litigation, the Court must presume are true. Stratta v. Roe , 961 F.3d 340, 349-50 (5th Cir. 2020). Plaintiffs reason that, when read together, these allegations compel an inference that they have sustained an injury in fact. First, they allege that Texans currently endure long lines when casting votes at polling-place locations (Dkt. No. 16 at 12). They have detailed several studies and articles to support this allegation (id. ).

Second, Plaintiffs allege that long lines disparately impact minorities who "overwhelmingly" support the Democratic Party (id. at 4, 24). They reason that minorities are more likely to "(1) live in poverty, (2) have less flexible job schedules, (3) lack access to transportation, and (4) lack access to child care assistance," which causes them to "leave polling-place lines" and avoid "attempting to vote" altogether (id. at 15). In short, Plaintiffs allege that minorities "have less ability to withstand long-polling place lines" (id. at 24).

Third, Plaintiffs allege that ballots in Texas elections are generally lengthy, labeling them as "some of the longest ballots in the country" (id. at 11). And they specifically allege that in Texas's "most populous counties, voters are sometimes faced with the task of making decisions in over 80 races or referendum questions" all on a single ballot (id. ).

Fourth, Plaintiffs allege that long lines and ballots increase voter fatigue and roll-off (id. at 12). Roll off occurs "when a voter casts a ballot but fails to make a selection in all entries on that ballot" (id. ). Plaintiffs contend that many voters engage in roll-off due to the lengthy ballots in Texas races and the lengthy waits that voters are subject to when casting their ballots. They add that roll-off "occurs most commonly" amongst minorities given they have, "on average, lower educational attainment [as] compared to white Texans" (id. at 25).

Fifth, Plaintiffs allege that straight-ticket voting combats long lines and roll-off (id. at 12). They reason that straight-ticket voting "reduces voting time and minimizes wait times at polling places," and reduces roll-off by "reducing the number of separate races in which a voter must select a candidate" (id. at 2, 12). Stated differently, Plaintiffs reason that straight-ticket voting helps prevent long lines and increase the speed at which citizens cast their votes by permitting them to do so for all races on a given ballot with a single punch.

Sixth, Plaintiffs allege that the elimination of straight-ticket voting will significantly increase the length of lines at polling places and increase roll-off at polling-places. Plaintiffs cite a state legislator who summarizes their position on this point:

[L]ong waits at polling places already are huge problems in some parts of Texas, especially in urban areas where many voters line-up to vote for many races on the ballot. On the first day of early voting for the November 2016 election, for example, long waits—sometimes hours—were reported in Bexar, Harris, Nueces, and Denton counties. Lines and ballot fatigue can exhaust voters’ patience, and eliminating the straight-party option would only make things worse and cause many either to skip down-ballot races altogether or not go to the polls at all. The effect would be to suppress voting and voter turnout.

(Dkt, No. 16 at 18) (citing Tex. S.J., 85th Leg., Reg. Sess., Sen. Zaffirini (May 18, 2017)).

Seventh, Plaintiffs allege that the elimination of straight-ticket voting will cause voter confusion (Dkt. No. 16 at 25). Plaintiffs reason that voters "who have relied on [the straight-ticket voting practice] for decades will now be forced to navigate a system with which they are unfamiliar," which "will disparately impact minority voters" who "on average have lower educational attainments as a result of historical discrimination" (id. ).

Seventh, Plaintiffs allege that their predicted "effects" of HB 25—longer lines at polling-places, increased roll-off at polling-places, and voter confusion at polling-places—will significantly burden Texans’ right to vote (id. at 23, 26). Specifically, Plaintiffs reason that, given Texas's "existing problem of long polling-place lines," the elimination of straight-ticket voting will "exponentially increase" the time that Texans will wait to cast their ballots at polling-places, which will cause "a substantial amount of additional voters [to] leave polling-place lines without voting" (id. ). For the same reason, Plaintiffs allege that the predicted effects of HB 25 will disproportionately burden voters who support the Democratic Party, including minorities, which will "in turn" cause Democratic candidates, including Tiedt and others, to lose votes at polling-places...