Utah Republican Party v. Cox
Decision Date | 08 April 2016 |
Docket Number | No. 20160077.,20160077. |
Citation | 2016 UT 17,373 P.3d 1286 |
Parties | UTAH REPUBLICAN PARTY, and Utah Democratic Party, Plaintiffs, v. LT. Governor Spencer J. COX, Defendant. |
Court | Utah Supreme Court |
Marcus R. Mumford, Salt Lake City, Christ Troupis, Eagle, Idaho, for plaintiff Utah Republican Party.
Troy L. Booher, Charles A. Stormont, David Billings, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff Utah Democratic Party.
Sean D. Reyes, Att'y Gen., David N. Wolf, Asst. Att'y Gen., T. Parker Douglas, Asst. Att'y Gen., Salt Lake City, for defendant.
¶ 1 Pursuant to Utah Code section 78A–3–102(1)
, this court has accepted the following certified questions of law from the United States District Court for the District of Utah:
1. In interpreting Utah Code § 20A–9–101(12)(d)
, § 20A–9–406(3) and § 20A–9–406(4), does Utah law require that a Qualified Political Party (QPP) permit its members to seek its nomination by “either” or “both” of the methods set forth in § 20A–9–407 and § 20A–9–408, or may a QPP preclude a member from seeking the party's nomination by gathering signatures under § 20A–9–408?
2. If a registered political party (RPP) that has selected to be designated as a Qualified Political Party (QPP) fails to satisfy the requirements of a QPP, must the Lieutenant Governor treat that political party as a RPP under Utah law?
We address the first question, but have determined that the second is not ripe and therefore decline to respond, as explained below.
¶ 2 Ray v. Wal–Mart Stores, Inc., 2015 UT 83, ¶ 8, 359 P.3d 614
(alterations in original) (citations omitted).
reads as follows:
¶ 4 We begin our construction of this portion of the statute by examining its plain language. We conclude that its contents, including its grammatical structure, clearly evince the legislature's meaning: to meet the definitional requirements of a QPP, a political party must permit its members to seek its nomination by “choosing to seek the nomination by either or both” the convention and the signature process. The Utah Republican Party has offered two basic arguments in opposition to this interpretation of the statute's plain language: (1) the language actually permits the party, not the member, to choose either or both of the methods; and (2) a contrary interpretation is inconsistent with Utah Code section 20A–9–401(2)
and the canon of constitutional avoidance.
¶ 5 We cannot accept the Republican Party's first assertion—it simply ignores the structure of the statutory language “permits a member” and “by the member choosing to seek the nomination by....” Our reading is also consistent with the language of Utah Code section 20A–9–406(3)
, which provides that “[t]he following provisions apply to a qualified political party: ... an individual may only seek the nomination of the qualified political party by using a method described in Section 20A–9–407, Section 20A–9–408, or both.” Utah Code section 20A–9–406(4) further provides that “the qualified political party shall comply with the provisions of Sections 20A–9–407, 20A–9–408, and 20A–9–409.” The Republican Party's position is not consistent with this language.
¶ 6 Utah Code section 20A–9–401
, on which the Republican Party also relies, contains two provisions:
The Republican Party argues that our plain language construction of section 20A–9–101(12)(d)
would violate paragraph (2) above by governing or regulating its internal procedures. We disagree. The statute does not require the Republican Party to seek certification as a qualified political party, and it does not purport to mandate the adoption of any provisions in its constitution, bylaws, rules, or other internal procedures. A registered political party that chooses to function as such incurs no obligation under subsection (12)(d). However, if a party seeks certification as a QPP, it must comply with the statute's requirements. This does not amount to internal control or regulation of the party by the State.
¶ 7 Finally, we reject the Republican Party's argument that we should avoid an unconstitutional interpretation of section 20A–9–101(12)(d)
by adopting the Republican Party's reading of the statute. As a preliminary matter, we harbor some doubt as to whether the Republican Party has raised any legitimate constitutional arguments that the State may not regulate the election process and favor particular measures to increase access to the ballot. See
Cal. Democratic Party v. Jones, 530 U.S. 567, 572, 120 S.Ct. 2402, 147 L.Ed.2d 502 (2000) ( . However, we need not address the merits of the Republican Party's constitutional claims. “[F]or the constitutional avoidance canon to even apply, ‘the statute must be genuinely susceptible to two constructions'....” Utah Dep't of Transp. v. Carlson, 2014 UT 24, ¶ 24, 332 P.3d 900 (citation omitted). As noted above, there is no ambiguity in section 20A–9–101(12)(d) that would trigger resort to the canon of constitutional avoidance.
¶ 8 Notwithstanding our acceptance of the second certified question, our review of the record and the parties' arguments in this matter persuades us that it is purely hypothetical and not ripe for review. Two of the parties—the Lieutenant Governor and the Republican Party—conceded this lack of ripeness at oral argument.
¶ 9 At present there are multiple options available to the Republican Party once this court's interpretation of the QPP statute is published, and it is not clearly established in the record which of those the party will choose. According to the February 11, 2016 order of the federal district court, the Chairman of the Utah Republican Party sent a letter to the Lieutenant Governor in December 2015 declaring that “it would restrict its candidate-selection procedures to the convention method, thereby prohibiting any URP candidate from gathering signatures.” The letter cited by the federal court...
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Utah Republican Party v. Cox
...not the party, to select which of those two paths to follow in an effort to be certified to the primary ballot. Utah Republican Party v. Cox, 373 P.3d 1286, 1287 (Utah 2016). The second question, certified at the request of the UDP, was what would happen if a party elects to become a QPP un......
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Utah Republican Party v. Cox
...not the party, to select which of those two paths to follow in an effort to be certified to the primary ballot. Utah Republican Party v. Cox, 373 P.3d 1286, 1287 (Utah 2016). The second question, certified at the request of the UDP, was what would happen if a party elects to become a QPP un......
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