Molinari v. Powers
| Decision Date | 04 February 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 99 Civ. 8447 (ERK) (ASC).,99 Civ. 8447 (ERK) (ASC). |
| Citation | 82 F.Supp.2d 57 |
| Parties | Guy MOLINARI, John McCain, Larry Rockefeller, The League of Women Voters of New York State, John Skabry, John Duffy, John C. Cochrane, Nick Teng, Stephen Miller, R. Frederick Linfesty, Tina Sheesley, Richard Stadin, Luis Ortega, Al Shapiro, Coleman Mishkoff, Angelo Marlinelli, Kathleen O'Neill, John D. Piro, Jr., George J. Schlink, Mark Quinn, Jennifer L. Kim, Eric W. Schreck, Lisa Anne Reilly, Jeremy B. Dibbell, Richard N. Canniff, Michael Paninski, Kevin McArdle, Robert Burns, John C. Mitchell, Gerald D. Ricci, Robert Lynch, Carl Heterbring, Kraig H. Kayser, Darren K. Eustance, James L. Dowsey III, Daniel S. Gottesman, Matthew Burin and Marcia E. Lynch, Plaintiffs, Steve Forbes and Forbes 2000, Inc., Plaintiffs-Interveners, Alan Keyes, Christopher T. Slattery, Eileen F. Slattery, Margot Damiano, Alan P. Mehldau, Audrey M. Negron, Edmund J. Keefe and Robert Hornak, Plaintiffs-Interveners, v. William POWERS, Chairman, New York Republican State Committee; New York Republican State Committee; New York State Board of Elections; Neil W. Kelleher, Carol Berman, Evelyn J. Aquila and Helena Moses Donohue, Commissioners, New York State Board of Elections; New York City Board of Elections; Douglas Kellner, Stephen H. Weiner, Michael H. Cilmi, Vincent J. Velella, Weyman A. Carey, Ronald J. D'Angelo, Terrence C. O'Connor, Crystal N. Paris, Gertrude Strohm and Frederic M. Umane, Commissioners, New York City Board of Elections; Erie County Board of Elections; Laurence Adamczyk and Ralph Mohr, Commissioners, Erie County Board of Elections, Nassau County Board of Elections; Barbara Patton and John Degrace, Commissioners, Nassau County Board of Elections; Suffolk County Board of Elections; Gerald Edelstein and Barbara P. Barci, Commissioners, Suffolk County Board of Elections; Monroe County Board of Elections; M. Betsey Relin and Peter M. Quinn, Commissioners, Monroe County Board of Elections, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Burt Neuborne, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, New York City (E. Joshua Rosenkranz, Nancy Northup, Glenn J. Moramarco, Nathaniel Persily, of counsel), Richard D. Emery, John R. Cuti, Emery Cuti Brinckerhoff & Abady PC, New York City (David H. Gans, of counsel), for plaintiffs Guy Molinari, et al.
Robert Allan Muir, Jr., Brooklyn, NY, Cleta Mitchell, Sullivan & Mitchell P.L.L.C., Washington, DC, for plaintiffs-interveners Steve Forbes, et ano.
James G. Rizzo, M. Miller Baker, Michael S. Nadel, Carr Goodson Warner, A Professional Corporation, Washington, DC (J. Michael Lehmann, of counsel), C. Michael Tarone, Washington, DC, for plaintiffs-interveners Alan Keyes, et al.
Lawrence A. Mandelker, Kantor, Davidoff, Wolfe, Mandelker & Kass, P.C., New York City, for defendants New York Republican State Committee and William D. Powers.
Todd D. Valentine, Special Counsel, New York State Board of Elections, Albany, NY, for defendant New York State Board of Elections.
Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ballot access rules for the primary (the "Primary") that will be held by the New York Republican State Committee (the "Republican State Committee") on March 7, 2000. The purpose of the Primary is to select the Republican State Committee's delegates to the 2000 Republican National Convention (the "Convention"), where, among other things, the Republican National Party (the "Republican Party" or the "Party") will select its nominee for the 2000 presidential election, the Party's national platform and the rules of internal Party governance, including rules governing the selection of delegates to the next convention. Davis Decl. ¶¶ 4, 6; Powers Aff. ¶ 8. Under the rules of the Republican Party, each state's local Party organization must select three delegates from each of its congressional districts to attend the Convention, and the majority of Convention delegates from each state must be selected by district, rather than on an "at-large" basis. Powers Aff. ¶ 9. As this national Party rule has been implemented in New York by the Republican State Committee, three Convention delegates (and three alternates) are to be elected in each of New York's 31 congressional districts during the Primary, and eight additional delegates will be chosen "at-large" by the Republican State Committee after the Primary. Molinari Decl.Ex. B at 1; Powers Aff. ¶ 10 & Ex. B.
On June 29, 1999, the Governor of New York signed into law 1999 Sess. Law News of N.Y. Ch. 137 (S. 5965-A) ("Chapter 137"), a statute providing two alternate schemes by which political parties in New York may hold their primaries. See generally Chapter 137. Parties must conduct their primaries under either §§ 2 and 2-a of the statute on the one hand, or § 3 on the other. Id. § 1. While Chapter 137 allows each political party to choose which option to adopt, it has been the practice in recent presidential election years, including this one, for the New York Legislature to pass an authorizing statute that merely codifies each party's preferred method of organizing its primary; thus, what appear to be the options from which the parties may choose are in fact the choices they have already made. See Rockefeller v. Powers, 917 F.Supp. 155, 164 (E.D.N.Y. 1996), aff'd, 78 F.3d 44 (2d Cir.1996). The Republican State Committee selected §§ 2 and 2-a for the Primary. O'Brien Decl. Ex. A. The New York Democratic State Committee (the "Democratic State Committee") selected § 3 as the governing provision for its primary. Id. ¶ 5.
Under §§ 2 and 2-a of Chapter 137, the scheme chosen by the Republicans, delegates are to be selected in direct elections conducted in each congressional district. Chapter 137 § 2[2][a]. When filing their candidacies, delegates must either declare themselves as aligned with a particular presidential candidate or declare themselves as "uncommitted." Id. § 2[3]-[4]. The name of the presidential candidate to whom each delegate candidate has declared allegiance (or the delegate candidate's "uncommitted" status, if applicable) is shown on the ballot next to or below the more prominent name of the delegate candidate. O'Brien Decl. ¶ 4. For a presidential candidate to "field" on the Primary ballot a delegate candidate or a slate of delegate candidates who are pledged to support him (and, conversely, for a delegate candidate to be permitted to pledge his or her support to a particular presidential candidate), (i) the presidential candidate must collect 5,000 signatures from registered Republican voters statewide, without regard to geographic distribution; and (ii) each delegate candidate pledged to support him must obtain signatures from the lesser of 1,000 or 0.5% of registered Republican voters in the district for which the delegate is a candidate. Chapter 137 § 2-a. Nevertheless, the 0.5% requirement is the operative requirement in every one of New York's congressional districts, because 0.5% of enrolled Republicans does not exceed 1,000 voters in any of the congressional districts. O'Brien Decl. ¶ 6; Buley Aff. ¶ 6. This adds up to approximately 15,500 signatures for delegate candidates in addition to the 5,000 that must be collected statewide for presidential candidates. By contrast, in order to qualify to run in the Republican primary for Governor of the State of New York, a gubernatorial candidate need only obtain 15,000 signatures. New York Election Law ("Election Law") § 6-136[1]. While some showing of support is required throughout the state, it suffices if the gubernatorial candidate obtains 100 signatures from each of only one-half of the congressional districts. Id.
The number of signatures required for a Republican presidential candidate to compete for delegates pledged to him also far exceeds the number required for a Democratic presidential candidate in New York. Under § 3 of Chapter 137, the scheme chosen by the Democratic State Committee, there is in fact an option for a statewide presidential primary, such that presidential candidates may obtain statewide Democratic primary ballot access solely by collecting 5,000 signatures from registered Democratic voters statewide, without regard to geographic distribution. Chapter 137 §§ 3[1], [3]. Under that option, if a Democratic presidential candidate also wishes to field delegate slates in each congressional district (which both Democratic front-runners opted to do this year, Berger Decl. ¶ 23), the delegate candidates in such slates, like those in Republican slates, also must obtain signatures from the lesser of 1,000 or 0.5% of registered Democrats in each congressional district. Chapter 137 § 3[6][c]. Unlike the option selected by the Republican State Committee, however, the number of delegates a Democratic candidate for President receives is not dependent upon the outcome of the delegate election, or even upon whether any delegate slates are on the ballot pledged to him. Instead, what determines whether a delegate from New York goes to the Democratic National Convention is solely the popular vote for the presidential candidates in the Democratic primary (and not the vote totals for the delegate candidates). Berger Decl. ¶ 23; Buley Aff. ¶ 11; O'Brien Decl. Ex. B. Even if a Democratic presidential candidate has not qualified delegate candidates for the ballot in all or even any congressional districts, he still gets an allocation of delegates to the Democratic National Convention based on the popular vote. Buley Aff. ¶ 12. In such a circumstance, the Democratic State Committee names those delegates after the Primary. Id. In short, whether he fields a delegate slate or not, a Democratic presidential candidate may compete for delegates pledged to support him in each of New York's 31 congressional districts as long as he collects 5,000 signatures...
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