New Progressive Party v. Hernandez Colon, Civ. No. 91-2232 HL.

• Decision Date: 15 November 1991
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 91-2232 HL.
• Citation: 779 F. Supp. 646
• Parties: NEW PROGRESSIVE PARTY (PARTIDO NUEVO PROGRESISTA); Senator Nicolas Nogueras-Cartagena, as a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico, and as a qualified voter in Puerto Rico elections; Angel Luis Ocasio, Juan Burgos-Ortiz, qualified voters in Puerto Rico elections, Plaintiffs, Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Puerto Rico, Lynette Alvarado Rosas, Arturo J. Guzman Vargas, qualified voters in Puerto Rico elections, Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. Hon. Rafael HERNANDEZ COLON, Governor of Puerto Rico; Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; State Elections Commission (Commission Estatal De Elecciones) of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, President Juan R. Melecio, Commissioners Eudaldo Baez Galib (PDP), Carlos Canals (NPP), Manuel Rodriguez Orellana (PIP), Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

779 F. Supp. 646

NEW PROGRESSIVE PARTY (PARTIDO NUEVO PROGRESISTA); Senator Nicolas Nogueras-Cartagena, as a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico, and as a qualified voter in Puerto Rico elections; Angel Luis Ocasio, Juan Burgos-Ortiz, qualified voters in Puerto Rico elections, Plaintiffs Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Puerto Rico, Lynette Alvarado Rosas, Arturo J. Guzman Vargas, qualified voters in Puerto Rico elections, Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. Hon. Rafael HERNANDEZ COLON, Governor of Puerto Rico; Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; State Elections Commission (Commission Estatal De Elecciones) of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, President Juan R. Melecio, Commissioners Eudaldo Baez Galib (PDP), Carlos Canals (NPP), Manuel Rodriguez Orellana (PIP), Defendants.

Civ. No. 91-2232 HL.

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

November 15, 1991.

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Nicolas Nogueras-Cartagena, San Juan, P.R., pro se and for New Progressive Party, Angel Luis Ocasio, Juan Burgos Ortiz and Carlos Canals.

Jose Trias-Monge, Arturo Trias, Hector Melendez-Cano, San Juan, P.R., for Rafael Hernandez Colon and Com. of Puerto Rico.

David Rive-Rivera, Vargas & Rive, San Juan, P.R., for State Elections Com'n of Com. of Puerto Rico and Juan R. Melecio.

Mirta E. Rodriguez-Mora, Dept. of Justice, Fed. Litigation Div., San Juan, P.R., for Eudaldo Baez Galib.

Manuel Rodriguez Orellana, pro se.

Wanda Rubianes-Collazo, Santurce, P.R., for the Republican Nat. Hispanic Assembly of P.R., Lynette Alvarado Rosas and Arturo J. Guzman Vargas.

OPINION AND ORDER

LAFFITTE, District Judge.

This case deals with a topic that has been a source of continuous debate in Puerto Rico throughout this century: the political status of the island. It is an issue charged with historical and emotional ramifications. This Court will focus on the legal aspects of the latest controversy regarding status.

Before the Court is an action to enjoin a referendum scheduled to be held in Puerto Rico on December 8, 1991. Plaintiffs and plaintiff-intervenors ("plaintiffs") claim that Acts 85 and 86, which call for the holding of the referendum, will violate their First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights; that the language on the ballot of the referendum is unfair, vague, and confusing; that the registration process will disenfranchise certain voters; that provisions of the law enacting the referendum violate the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and that the referendum contravenes the federal laws that established the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

I.

Plaintiffs, the New Progressive Party (NPP), Senator Nicolás Nogueras-Cartagena, Angel Luis Ocasio, and Juan Burgos-Ortiz, filed a complaint shortly after the enactment of Act 85 on September 17, 1991. The complaint named as defendants Rafael Hernández Colón, the Governor of Puerto Rico; Miguel Hernández Agosto, President of the Senate of Puerto Rico; José R. Jarabo, Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and the State Elections Commission of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("the Commission").

This Court dismissed sua sponte the initial complaint against Miguel Hernández Agosto and José Jarabo, on the grounds that the complaint failed to request any relief against them. Because plaintiffs had failed to join indispensable parties, and because the complaint originally failed to comply with the requirements of F.R.Civ.P. 8(a) and 8(e)(1), plaintiffs were granted leave to amend. The amended complaint joined as party defendants the President of the State Elections Commission Juan R. Melecio, and Commissioners Eudaldo Báez-Galib, Carlos Canals, and Manuel Rodriguez-Orellana. The Court held hearings on October 17 and 25, 1991. The parties filed their respective briefs on October 30. The case was finally submitted for adjudication on November 1st, 1991. The Court is now ready to rule.

Two statutes are the center of this dispute. Act 85, the "Act to Guarantee Democratic Rights," was enacted on September 17, 1991. It provides for a referendum to be held on December 8, 1991, whereby the people of Puerto Rico would vote for or against six propositions. The second law at issue is Act 86, the "Enabling Act of the Referendum on the Claim for Democratic Rights," which was approved on October 2, 1991. Act 86 provides for the procedures by which the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico shall conduct the referendum. Among its provisions are sections on the ballot format (Sec. 3), the publicity campaign to be carried out by the Commission (Sec. 7), and the registration of voters (Secs. 6 & 13).

On August 28, 1991, defendant Hernández Colón submitted a bill to the Commonwealth legislature to amend Puerto Rico's Constitution. The language of the amendment was essentially the same as that which would later be incorporated into Act 85's Claim for Democratic Rights. An amendment to the Puerto Rico Constitution requires a two-third majority vote of the Legislature before it can be submitted to the people for a vote. P.R. Const. Art. VII, sec. 1. The Governor's proposed amendment failed to obtain the requisite two-thirds majority. Shortly thereafter the Legislature, responding to the Governor's recommendation, passed Acts 85 and 86. It is the enforcement of these laws which plaintiffs seek to enjoin.

II.

A. Jurisdiction

This Court is presented at the outset with a number of threshold issues. The first is the question of whether a federal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a suit to enjoin a referendum on the political status of Puerto Rico. Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases or controversies arising under the U.S. Constitution or federal statutes. This referendum deals with the future political status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Such a topic necessarily involves the nature of the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico and an examination of the federal laws that established Puerto Rico as a Commonwealth of the United States. It may also require a determination of what effect, if any, this referendum will have on the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico.

Federal courts in the past have adjudicated disputes arising out of Puerto Rico's electoral laws and procedures. See, e.g., Rodriguez v. Popular Democratic Party, 457 U.S. 1, 102 S.Ct. 2194, 72 L.Ed.2d 628 (1982); Partido Nuevo Progresista v. Barreto Perez, 639 F.2d 825 (1st Cir.1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 985, 101 S.Ct. 2318, 68 L.Ed.2d 842 (1981); Torres-Torres v. Commission Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico, 700 F.Supp. 613 (D.P.R.1988); Partido Nuevo Progresista v. Hernandez Colon, 415 F.Supp. 475 (D.P.R.1976). In addition to their other claims, plaintiffs also allege that the timing of the referendum works a disenfranchisement on certain voters, and that Acts 85 and 86 violate their First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Plaintiffs raise in their complaint both constitutional issues and questions pertaining to federal statutes. A federal question is present, and this Court therefore has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. sec. 1331.

Defendants assert that this case is not justiciable because it presents a political question. A case presenting a political question is not justiciable. However, the fact that a suit involves a political right does not mean that it presents a non-justiciable political question. Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 209, 82 S.Ct. 691, 706, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962). A case involving a political issue may also have a constitutional dimension which merits adjudication by a federal court. Additionally, it is the role of federal courts to enforce federally protected rights that may be violated by local electoral laws. Torres, 700 F.Supp. at 618. Plaintiffs claim that Acts 85 and 86 infringe on their constitutional rights. This case presents a justiciable question and is therefore properly before the court.

B. Standing

Defendants challenge plaintiffs' standing to bring this cause of action. Initially, we note that plaintiffs are challenging the referendum on two distinct grounds. One, they claim that the State Elections Commission's alleged inability to register all eligible voters would amount to an unconstitutional denial to these citizens of the right to vote. Two, they claim that the referendum itself violates their First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights; Public Law 600,¹ and Public Law 447,² and the Puerto Rico Constitution.

The issue of standing goes to whether a plaintiff has alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of a case or controversy as to warrant federal court adjudication of his claim. Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2205, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). A litigant has standing to sue if it can show that it has suffered an actual or threatened injury as a result of the defendant's conduct. Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United For Separation Of Church And State, 454 U.S. 464, 472, 102 S.Ct. 752, 758, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982). Furthermore, the injury must be fairly traceable to the challenged action and must be likely to be corrected by a decision in plaintiff's favor. Id.

Plaintiffs claim that the Electoral Commission cannot adequately register those citizens who are handicapped, recently-moved, absent from the island, or currently-incarcerated. A plaintiff challenging the disenfranchising effects of a state law does not have standing to represent a class to which it does not belong. Rosario v. Rockefeller, 410 U.S. 752, 759 n. 9, 93 S.Ct. 1245, 1250-51 n. 9, 36 L.Ed.2d 1 (1973); People Organized For Welfare & Employment Rights v. Thompson, 727 F.2d 167, 173 (7th Cir.1984). None of the individual plaintiffs claims to be a member of any of the groups that they allege are being denied adequate voter registration facilities. No individual plaintiff can say that he or she is being deprived of the right to vote. Therefore, the individual plai...