League of Women Voters of Fla., Inc. v. Lee
| Citation | 566 F.Supp.3d 1238 |
| Decision Date | 08 October 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No.: 4:21cv186-MW/MAF |
| Parties | LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF FLORIDA, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Laurel M. LEE, in her official capacity as Florida Secretary of State, et al., Defendants, and National Republican Senatorial Committee and Republican National Committee, Intervenor-Defendants. |
| Court | United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. Northern District of Florida |
Aria Christine Branch, David Robert Fox, Francesca Ashley Gibson, Lalitha D. Madduri, Christina A. Ford, Marc E. Elias, Elias Law Group, Washington, DC, David Lee Anstaett, Perkins Coie LLP, Madison, WI, Danielle E. Sivalingam, Perkins Coie LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Thomas Alan Zehnder, Frederick Stanton Wermuth, King Blackwell Zehnder & Wermuth PA, Orlando, FL, for Plaintiffs League of Women Voters of Florida Inc., League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund Inc., Black Voters Matter Fund Inc., Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Inc., Cecile Scoon, Robert Brigham, Alan Madison.
David Lee Anstaett, Perkins Coie LLP, Madison, WI, David Robert Fox, Francesca Ashley Gibson, Elias Law Group, Washington, DC, Danielle E. Sivalingam, Perkins Coie LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Frederick Stanton Wermuth, King Blackwell Zehnder etc. PA, Orlando, FL, for Plaintiff Susan Rogers.
Dallin B. Holt, John J. Cycon, Kenneth Clark Daines, Phillip Michael Gordon, Holtzman Vogel Baran et al., Haymarket, VA, Ashley E. Davis, Colleen E. O'Brien, Bradley Robert McVay, Florida Department of State Office of General Counsel, Gary Vergil Perko, Mohammad Omar Jazil, Holtzman Vogel Baran et al., Tallahassee, FL, for Defendant Laurel M. Lee.
Rachel Rose Siegel, Bilal Ahmed Faruqui, Karen Ann Brodeen, William Edward Chorba, William Henry Stafford, III, Florida Office of the Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, for Defendant Ashley Moody.
Diana Masters Johnson, Robert Charles Swain, Alachua County Attorneys Office, Gainesville, FL, for Defendant Kim A. Barton.
Edward Paul Cuffe, Susan Smith Erdelyi, Marks Gray PA, Jacksonville, FL, for Defendants Chris Milton, Mark Andersen, Amanda Seyfang, Sharon Chason, Tomi S. Brown, Starlet Cannon, Heather Riley, Shirley Knight, Laura Hutto, Carol Dunaway, Travis Hart, Grant Conyers, Janet H. Adkins, Charles Overturf, Tappie A. Villane, Vicky Oakes, William Keen, Jennifer M. Kinsey, Dana Southerland, Deborah Osborne, Joseph Morgan, Bobby Beasley, Carol F. Rudd.
Frank Michael Mari, Roper PA, Orlando, FL, for Defendants Lori Scott, Mark F. Negley, Kaiti Lenhart, Connie Sanchez, John Hanlon, Penny Ogg, Marty Bishop, Heath Driggers.
Benjamin Salzillo, Joseph K. Jarone, Nathaniel Adam Klitsberg, Broward County Attorneys Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Defendant Joe Scott.
Andy V. Bardos, GrayRobinson PA, Tallahassee, FL, for Defendants Paul A. Stamoulis, Jennifer J. Edwards, Leslie Swan, Alan Hays, Tommy Doyle, Michael Bennett, Wesley Wilcox, Joyce Griffin, Brian Corley, Christopher Anderson.
Dale A. Scott, Roper PA Orlando, FL, for Defendant Maureen Baird.
John T. Lavia, III, Gardner Bist Bowden et al., Ronald A. Labasky, Brewton Plante PA, Tallahassee, FL, for Defendants Chris H. Chambless, Vicki Davis, Mary Jane Arrington, Lori Edwards, Gertrude Walker.
Craig Dennis Feiser, Mary Margaret Giannini, City of Jacksonville Office of General Counsel, Jacksonville, FL, for Defendant Mike Hogan.
Kia M. Johnson, Escambia County Attorneys Office, Pensacola, FL, for Defendant David H. Stafford.
Geraldo Francis Olivo, III, Robert C. Shearman, Henderson Franklin Starnes etc., Fort Myers, FL, for Defendants Aletris Farnam, Diane Smith, Brenda Hoots, Therisa Meadows, Tammy Jones, Melissa Arnold.
Jon A. Jouben, Hernando County, Brookesville, FL, Kyle J. Benda, Hernando County Attorneys Office, Brooksville, FL, for Defendant Shirley Anderson.
Stephen Mark Todd, Office of the County Attorney, Tampa, FL, for Defendant Craig Latimer.
Mark Herron, Patrick Scott O'Bryant, Summer Denay Brown, Messer Caparello & Self PA, Tallahassee, FL, for Defendant Mark Earley.
Michael Beny Valdes, Oren Rosenthal, Miami-Dade County Attorneys Office, Miami, FL, for Defendant Christina White.
Elizabeth Desloge Ellis, Gregory Thomas Stewart, Kirsten H. Mood, Nabors Giblin & Nickerson PA, Tallahassee, FL, for Defendant Paul A. Lux.
Nicholas Ari Shannin, Shannin Law Firm PA, Orlando, FL, for Defendant Bill Cowles.
Ashley Dolan Houlihan, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, West Palm Beach, FL, for Defendant Wendy Link.
Kelly Lynn Vicari, Pinellas County Attorneys Office, Clearwater, FL, for Defendant Julie Marcus.
Morgan Ray Bentley, Bentley & Bruning PA, Asarasota, FL, for Defendant Ron Turner.
London Lee Ott, William Kevin Bledsoe, Volusia County Attorney, DeLand, FL, for Defendant Lisa Lewis.
Benjamin J. Gibson, Amber Stoner Nunnally, Daniel Elden Nordby, Shutts & Bowen LLP, Tallahassee, FL, Cameron Thomas Norris, Steven Christopher Begakis, Daniel Joseph Shapiro, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, Arlington, VA, Tyler R. Green, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, Salt Lake City, UT, Frank A. Zacherl, Shutts & Bowen LLP, Miami, FL, for Intervenor-Defendants.
Mark E. Walker, Chief United States District Judge This is a voting rights case. Plaintiffs are nonprofit groups and individual voters who challenge Florida's newly enacted law, Senate Bill 90 ("SB 90"), which they allege "burdens all Floridians," and "is crafted to and will operate to make it more difficult for certain types of voters to participate in the state's elections[.]" ECF No. 160 ¶ 5. Plaintiffs have sued Florida's Secretary of State, Laurel Lee, Florida's Attorney General, Ashley Moody, and Florida's 67 Supervisors of Elections. Defendant Lee and Defendant Moody have both moved to dismiss Plaintiffs’ amended complaint. ECF Nos. 175 & 176. This Court has considered, without hearing, the motions to dismiss, id. , memoranda in support, all other attachments, and the Plaintiffs’ responses in opposition to the motions, ECF Nos. 197 & 198.1
This Court has also reviewed the parties’ supplemental briefing related to Plaintiffs’ Article III standing to proceed against Defendant Lee. ECF Nos. 128 & 163. For the reasons set out below, the motions to dismiss are GRANTED in part and DENIED in part .
Plaintiffs League of Women Voters of Florida, Inc. ("LWV"), League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund ("LWVEF"), Black Voters Matter Fund, Inc. ("Black Voters Matter"), Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, Inc. ("Florida Alliance"), Cecile Scoon, Susan Rogers, Dr. Robert Brigham, and Alan Madison filed their second amended complaint on July 22, 2021, alleging six counts against Defendants Lee, Moody, and the 67 Supervisors of Elections.2 ECF No. 160.3 Before discussing Plaintiffs’ claims in more detail, some background information regarding Plaintiffs is necessary.
Starting with the LWV and LWVEF, collectively the "League," Plaintiffs allege that they are "nonpartisan voter-focused nonprofit organizations," with 29 chapters across the state of Florida." ECF No. 160 ¶ 15. "The League's mission is to encourage informed and active participation of its citizens in government." Id. "Among other activities, the League educates citizens about their voting rights and facilitates voting including through get-out-the-vote efforts and registration drives." Id. "The League devotes substantial time, effort, and resources to encourage voting by engaging in voter registration at various community events and in public places, such as parks and college and university campuses." Id. ¶ 16. They also devote substantial resources toward "helping eligible Floridians cast their votes," by "helping Floridians return their vote-by-mail ballots on a volunteer basis." Id. ¶ 17. Finally, the League devotes substantial resources to assisting and encouraging "voters at their polling locations to achieve its mission of ensuring that lawful voters are able to successfully access the franchise and make their voices heard through the ballot box." Id. ¶ 18. For instance, "the League has previously hosted ‘Party at the Polls’ events across Florida at polling locations to answer questions voters have about the voting process and to encourage voters to vote and stay in line by providing food and water at those events." Id.
The League also has "members across Florida, including its Black and Latino members, ... many of whom assist the organization through their voter registration efforts, polling place efforts, and ballot collection efforts." Id. ¶ 20. "The vast majority of the League's members are also registered Florida voters themselves, and many of them use vote-by-mail ballots to cast their votes[.]" Id.
As to Black Voters Matter, Plaintiffs allege it "is a nonprofit civic organization," whose "goal is to increase power in communities of color." Id. ¶ 28. The organization focuses on removing barriers to voting "by engaging in get-out-the-vote activities, educating voters on how to vote, and advocating for policies to expand voting rights and access." Id. During the 2020 general election, "Black Voters Matter was on the ground working to turn out the vote in Florida ... [and] was active at polling locations, encouraging voters to vote and handing out water, food, and other resources at polling locations, including to voters in line to vote." Id.
Plaintiff Florida Alliance is also a nonprofit corporation, whose "membership includes almost 200,000 retirees from public and private sector unions, community organizations, and individual activists in every county in Florida." Id. ¶ 29. Most of Florida Alliance's members are seniors between the ages of 65 and 85, and many with disabilities. Id. ¶ 31. Florida Alliance itself does not conduct organized voter registration or ballot collection efforts. Id. at 19 n.1. Instead, "[i]ts mission is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights that retirees have earned after a lifetime of work." Id. ¶ 29. To do this, Florida Alliance "actively pursu[es] and promot[es] legislation and public policies that are...
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