Upstate Jobs Party v. Kosinski
Decision Date | 08 September 2021 |
Docket Number | 18-CV-0459 (GTS/ATB) |
Parties | UPSTATE JOBS PARTY; Martin Babinec; and John Bullis, Plaintiffs, v. Peter S. KOSINSKI, New York State Bd. of Elections Co-Chair Comm'r, in his official capacity; Douglas A. Kellner, New York State Bd. of Elections Co-Chair Comm'r, in his official capacity; Andrew J. Spano, New York State Bd. of Elections Comm'r, in his official capacity; and Gregory P. Peterson, New York State Board of Elections Comm'r, in his official capacity, Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York |
OF COUNSEL: FERNANDO SANTIAGO, ESQ., MICHAEL A. BURGER, ESQ., SANTIAGO BURGER, LLP, Counsel for Plaintiffs, 2280 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610.
OF COUNSEL: JASON B. TORCHINSKY, ESQ., SHAWN T. SHEEHY, ESQ., PHILLIP M. GORDON, ESQ., HOLTZMAN VOGEL JOSEFIAK TORCHINSKY, PLLC, Co-Counsel for Plaintiffs, 15405 John Marshall Highway, Haymarket, VA 20169.
HON. LETITIA A. JAMES, OF COUNSEL: WILLIAM A. SCOTT, ESQ., Assistant Attorney General, Attorney General for the State of New York, Counsel for Defendants, The Capitol, Albany, NY 14202.
Currently before the Court, in this civil rights action filed by the Upstate Jobs Party, Martin Babinec, and John Bullis ("Plaintiffs") against the four commissioners of the New York State Board of Elections ("Defendants"), is Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, Defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment, and Plaintiffs’ two motions to strike the declaration, report and testimony of two of Defendants’ experts. (Dkt. No. 56, 57, 60, 61.) For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs’ motion to strike Brian Quail's declaration and testimony is denied in part and granted in part, Plaintiffs’ motion to strike Clyde Wilcox's expert report and testimony is denied, Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment granted in part and denied in part, and Defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part.
Generally, liberally construed, Plaintiffs’ Complaint alleges that New York State's Election Law improperly distinguishes between statutorily recognized political "parties" (hereafter "Parties") and "constituted committees" (hereafter "Constituted Committees") on the one hand and statutorily recognized "independent bodies" (hereafter "Independent Bodies") such as the United Jobs Party ("UJP") on the other hand with regard to contribution limits and segregated accounts, thereby creating a "tilted playing field" against Independent Bodies. (Dkt. No. 1.)
Generally, based on these allegations, the Complaint asserts six causes of action: (1) a request for a judgment declaring that New York State's so-called "housekeeping account exemption," codified in N.Y. Elec. Law § 14-124(3), violates both the Free Speech and Association Clauses of the First Amendment; (2) a request for a judgment declaring that the same "housekeeping account exemption" violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; (3) a request for a judgment declaring that New York State's differing limits for contributions by political organizations to candidates, codified in N.Y. Elec. Law § 14-114(1),(3) violates both the Free Speech and Association Clauses of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, by prohibiting Plaintiff UJP from contributing more than $44,0002 to its gubernatorial candidate, in contrast to the Parties and Constituted Committees which can make unlimited contributions to their candidates, without having a compelling interest for doing so or using a narrowly tailored means to accomplish such an interest; (4) a request for a judgment declaring that the same statute violates Plaintiff Babinec's right to make political contributions to Plaintiff UJP under the First Amendment, by limiting his contribution to $44,000, which is substantially less than he could contribute to any of the Parties or Constituted Committees; (5) a request for a judgment declaring that New York State's differing limits for contributions by individual contributors to political organizations, codified in N.Y. Elec. Law § 14-114(1),(10), violates both the Free Speech and Association Clauses of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, by prohibiting Plaintiff UJP from raising more than $44,000 per contributor for its gubernatorial candidate while permitting Parties and Constituted Committees to raise up to $109,600 per contributor for their gubernatorial candidates, without having an anti-corruption interest to justify the disparity; and (6) a request for a judgment declaring that New York State's statute limiting contributions to candidates, codified in N.Y. Elec. Law § 14-114 and 9 N.Y.C.R.R. § 6214.0, violates both the Free Speech and Association Clauses of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, by permitting Party and Constituted Committee candidates for governor to raise money in a primary election while prohibiting Plaintiff UJP's candidate for governor from doing so. (See generally Dkt. No. 1 .) Familiarity with the factual allegations supporting these claims in Plaintiffs’ Complaint is assumed in this Decision and Order, which is intended primarily for review by the parties. (Id. )
Unless otherwise noted, the following facts were asserted and supported with accurate citations by the parties in their Statements of Material Facts and expressly admitted, or denied without appropriate record citations, in their responses thereto. with Dkt. No. 57, Attach 7, at 1-28 [Defs.’ Rule 7.1 Resp.]; compare Dkt. No. 57, Attach. 7, at 28-32 [Defs.’ Rule 7.1 Statement] with Dkt. No. 58, at 58-88 ) 3
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