Source: http://openjurist.org/95/f3d/253/patriot-party-of-allegheny-county-v-allegheny-county-department-of-elections
Timestamp: 2015-04-21 13:34:45
Document Index: 381419597

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2936', '§ 1983', '§ 1331', '§ 1291', '§ 2870', '§ 2831', '§ 2936', '§ 2911', '§ 2936']

95 F3d 253 Patriot Party of Allegheny County v. Allegheny County Department of Elections | OpenJurist
95 F. 3d 253 - Patriot Party of Allegheny County v. Allegheny County Department of Elections	Home95 f3d 253 patriot party of allegheny county v. allegheny county department of elections
95 F3d 253 Patriot Party of Allegheny County v. Allegheny County Department of Elections 95 F.3d 253
65 USLW 2198, 112 Ed. Law Rep. 51
PATRIOT PARTY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTYv.ALLEGHENY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS; Mark Wolosik asDirector of the Allegheny County Department ofElections, the Patriot Party ofAllegheny County, Appellant.
No. 95-3385.
Argued March 28, 1996.Decided Sept. 9, 1996.Sur Petition for Rehearing Nov. 4, 1996.
Cornish F. Hitchcock (argued), David C. Vladeck, Public Citizen Litigation Group, Washington, D.C., Sarah E. Siskind, Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, Madison, WI, William A. Weiler, Jr., Weiler & Weiler, Jonathan B. Robison, Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellant.
Ira Weiss, County Solicitor, Allan J. Opsitnick (argued), Assistant County Solicitor, Office of Allegheny County Law Department, Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellees.
The Allegheny County Patriot Party ("Party") alleges that two Pennsylvania election laws have prevented it from nominating its chosen candidate for school director, in violation of the Party's First and Fourteenth Amendment right of free association as well as its Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the laws. The challenged laws, 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 2936(e) and 2911(e)(5), prevent a minor political party from "cross-nominating" a candidate for political office when that candidate has already been nominated for the same office by another political party. The Party seeks declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to prevent enforcement of the challenged Pennsylvania laws in future elections.
We hold that the challenged sections of Pennsylvania's election code violate the Patriot Party's right of free association and its right to equal protection of the laws. The state election laws severely burden the Party's right to choose its standard-bearer and build its political organization, without supporting a compelling countervailing state interest. They also facially discriminate against minor political parties and their supporters. We will therefore reverse the judgment of the district court, enter judgment for the Patriot Party, and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The district court properly asserted subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343(3)-(4). We have jurisdiction of the district court's final order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
The facts of this case are not in dispute. The Pennsylvania Election Code explicitly allows candidates for certain local offices, including school director, to be nominated by both major parties. 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2870(f). Pursuant to the Code, several candidates for school director in Pennsylvania's North Allegheny School District sought the nominations of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the May 1993 municipal primary. Three candidates were nominated by both major parties to run in the November 1993 general election for the four available four-year terms. In addition, Michael Eshenbaugh sought the nomination of both major parties for the one available two-year term. Although Eshenbaugh was nominated by the Democratic Party, he lost his bid for the Republican nomination.
In July 1993, the Patriot Party of Allegheny County, a minor political party, see 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 2831(a)-(b) and 2872.2, nominated four candidates for school director in the North Allegheny School District. Eshenbaugh was one of the Patriot Party nominees, and he willingly accepted his nomination by the Party. Two sections of the Pennsylvania Code, however, voided the Patriot Party's nomination of Eshenbaugh, because he had already sought the nomination of the major political parties.1 By letter dated August 10, 1993, Mark Wolosik, Director of the Allegheny County Department of Elections ("the Department"), explained that because Eshenbaugh had previously filed nomination petitions seeking the nominations of the major parties, Pennsylvania law prohibited him from filing nomination papers to run on a minor party ticket. Wolosik cited 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2936(e) as the authority for his ruling, without noting that § 2911(e)(5) also prevented Eshenbaugh's dual candidacy. See supra note 1.
The Patriot Party challenges the constitutionality of 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 2936(e) and 2911(e)(5) as applied in this case to prevent the Party from nominating Eshenbaugh. Because both parties agreed that the facts were undisputed, the district court treated the Department's motion to dismiss and the Patriot Party's motion for summary judgment as cross-motions for summary judgment. See Patriot Party v. Allegheny County Dep't of Elections & Mark Wolosik, No. 93-1884, slip op. at 2 n. 1 (W.D. Pa. June 7, 1995) (hereinafter Patriot Party ). The district court denied the Patriot Party's free association and equal protection claims, holding that the state's legitimate interest in regulating its ballot justified the restraints that the election code placed on minor parties. Patriot Party, slip op. at 11.
Our review of the district court's grant of summary judgment is plenary. Wheeler v. Towanda Area School Dist., 950 F.2d 128, 129 (3d Cir.1991); Public Interest Research Group of N.J., Inc. v. Powell Duffryn Terminals, Inc., 913 F.2d 64, 71 (3d Cir.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1109, 111 S.Ct. 1018, 112 L.Ed.2d 1100 (1991). We apply the same test the district court should have applied initially. Goodman v. Mead Johnson & Co., 534 F.2d 566, 573 (3d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1038, 97 S.Ct. 732, 50 L.Ed.2d 748 (1977).
Before reaching the merits of the Patriot Party's challenge, we must determine whether this controversy is justiciable. Eshenbaugh, running on the Democratic ticket only, won the two-year term vacancy for school director in the November 1993 election. Patriot Party, slip op. at 3 n. 3. As a result, we must ensure that this case has not been mooted by the fact that the election in question has taken place and by Eshenbaugh's success in that election. "An action becomes moot when '(1) there is no reasonable expectation that the alleged events will recur ... and (2) interim relief or events have completely eradicated the effects of the violation.' " Zellous v. Broadhead Assoc., 906 F.2d 94, 100 (3d Cir.1990) (quoting Ames v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 864 F.2d 289, 291-92 (3d Cir.1988)).
Although the 1993 election has come and gone, the district court found that "[i]f it were permitted to do so, [the Patriot Party] would nominate a candidate who, like Mr. Eshenbaugh, has sought the nomination in the primary election by both major parties and who has succeeded in winning the nomination of one of those parties." Patriot Party, slip op. at 5. Since this case was filed, the Patriot Party has also challenged the Department's decision to reject the Party's cross-nomination of a candidate who was nominated by both the Democratic and Republican parties. See Patriot Party of Allegheny County v. Wolosik, Civ. No. 95-1175 (W.D.Pa.). Although this latter controversy differs from our factual scenario, it indicates the likelihood that cross-nominations by third parties will continue to vex the Pennsylvania Department of Elections and the courts.
Because cross-nominations by minor political parties are still prohibited by the Pennsylvania election laws, this case is capable of repetition, yet evading review. Norman v. Reed, 502 U.S. 279, 287-88, 112 S.Ct. 698, 704-05, 116 L.Ed.2d 711 (1992) (citing Moore v. Ogilvie, 394 U.S. 814, 816, 89 S.Ct. 1493, 1494-95, 23 L.Ed.2d 1 (1969)). There is "every reason to expect the same parties to generate a similar, future controversy subject to identical time constraints...." Id. We hold therefore that this case is justiciable.
States have broad power to regulate the time, place, and manner of elections, but they must do so within the limits established by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Cent. Comm., 489 U.S. 214, 222, 109 S.Ct. 1013, 1019-20, 103 L.Ed.2d 271 (1989). The protection of the First and Fourteenth Amendments extends to partisan political organizations as well as to individuals. Id. at 224, 109 S.Ct. at 1020 ("It is well settled that partisan political organizations enjoy freedom of association protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments") (citing Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut, 479 U.S. 208, 217, 107 S.Ct. 544, 550, 93 L.Ed.2d 514 (1986); Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 357, 96 S.Ct. 2673, 2681-82, 49 L.Ed.2d 547 (1976) (plurality opinion)). Thus, a political party, such as the Patriot Party, may challenge state regulations that allegedly burden its fundamental constitutional right to freedom of association. See, e.g., Eu, 489 U.S. 214, 109 S.Ct. 1013; Tashjian, 479 U.S. 208, 107 S.Ct. 544.
Although no dispositive precedent explicitly discusses cross-nomination, a number of Supreme Court decisions touch upon the rights of political parties. These cases set out a general framework for analyzing constitutional challenges to state election laws. Norman, 502 U.S. at 288-89, 112 S.Ct. at 704-06; Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780, 788, 103 S.Ct. 1564, 1569-70, 75 L.Ed.2d 547 (1983). The Court generally applies a fact intensive balancing test that weighs the burden that the state election law places on a political party against the state's asserted justification for the law.
To determine whether a state election law violates the U.S. Constitution, we first examine whether the challenged law burdens rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Eu, 489 U.S. at 222, 109 S.Ct. at 1019-20. If the law does burden protected rights, we must gauge the character and magnitude of the burden on the plaintiff and weigh it against the importance of the interests that the state proffers to justify the burden. Norman, 502 U.S. at 288-89, 112 S.Ct. at 704-06; Anderson, 460 U.S. at 789, 103 S.Ct. at 1570. We examine not only the legitimacy and strength of the state's proffered interests, but the necessity of burdening the plaintiff's rights in order to protect those interests. Anderson, 460 U.S. at 789, 103 S.Ct. at 1570. If the burden on the plaintiff's rights is severe, the state's interest must be compelling and the law must be narrowly tailored to serve the state's interests. Norman, 502 U.S. at 289, 112 S.Ct. at 705-06; Eu, 489 U.S. at 222, 109 S.Ct. at 1019-20; see also Twin Cities Area New Party v. McKenna, 73 F.3d 196, 198 (8th Cir.1996), cert. granted, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 1846, 134 L.Ed.2d 947 (1996); Swamp v. Kennedy, 950 F.2d 383, 385 (7th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 505 U.S. 1204, 112 S.Ct. 2992, 120 L.Ed.2d 870 (1992).2 We proceed, therefore, by first examining the burden that the challenged Pennsylvania election laws place on the Patriot Party's constitutional rights. We then consider the justification that Pennsylvania has proffered to support the imposition of this burden.
A. Burden on the Patriot Party
The Patriot Party alleges that the State's prohibition of cross-nomination by minor parties infringes upon its First and Fourteenth Amendment right of free association in two ways. First, the restriction prevents the Party from nominating the standard bearer who the Party thinks will "most effectively advance [its] program and platform." Second, the challenged election laws deprive the Patriot Party of an opportunity to "fuse" its votes with those of a major party and thereby to make inroads into the political process. We consider these alleged burdens in turn.
An "antifusion statute" that prevents a political party from nominating its candidate of choice burdens a political party's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Supreme Court has recognized that "[f]reedom of association also encompasses a political party's decisions about the identity of, and the process for electing, its leaders." Eu, 489 U.S. at 230, 109 S.Ct. at 1023 (citing Democratic Party of the U.S. v. Wisconsin, 450 U.S. 107, 123-24, 101 S.Ct. 1010, 1019-20, 67 L.Ed.2d 82 (1981) (State cannot dictate process for selecting delegates to national convention) and Cousins v. Wigoda, 419 U.S. 477, 95 S.Ct. 541, 42 L.Ed.2d 595 (1975) (State cannot dictate who may sit as convention delegate)). In Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Cent. Comm., for example, the Court reviewed the constitutionality of California election laws that, inter alia, prohibited the governing bodies of various political parties from officially endorsing candidates in their own party primaries. 489 U.S. at 216, 109 S.Ct. at 1016. The Court stated that
[f]reedom of association means not only that an individual voter has the right to associate with the political party of her choice, ... but also that a political party has a right to "identify the people who constitute the association," ... and to select a "standard bearer who best represents the party's ideologies and preferences."
Id. at 224, 109 S.Ct. at 1020-21 (emphasis added) (citations omitted). The Court recognized that the State's ban on endorsement by the party leadership was "clearly a restraint on the right of association," id. at 225, 109 S.Ct. at 1021 (citing Citizens Against Rent Control/Coalition for Fair Housing v. Berkeley, 454 U.S. 290, 296, 102 S.Ct. 434, 437, 70 L.Ed.2d 492 (1981)). It held therefore that because the state ban on party endorsements burdened free speech and free association, it could survive constitutional scrutiny only if it served a compelling governmental interest. Id. at 225, 109 S.Ct. at 1021.
Dicta from Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut also indicates that political parties have a protected interest in selecting their own candidates, even if the nominee is not a party member. The Court explained:
Were the State to ... provide that only Party members might be selected as the Party's chosen nominees for public office, such a prohibition of potential association with nonmembers would clearly infringe upon the rights of the Party's members under the First Amendment to organize with like-minded citizens in support of common political goals.
479 U.S. at 215, 107 S.Ct. at 549; see also id. at 235-36, 107 S.Ct. at 559-50 (Scalia, J., dissenting) ("Nor is there any question of restricting the ability of the Party's members to select whatever candidate they desire").
Like the state election laws in Eu and the hypothetical restriction in Tashjian, the Pennsylvania election laws prohibit a political party from associating with its candidate of choice. Eshenbaugh was the Patriot Party's chosen standard bearer, and he was willing to serve as the Party's candidate. Nevertheless, Pennsylvania's election laws denied the Party the right to nominate him. By denying the Patriot Party the right to choose its standard bearer, the Pennsylvania election laws burdened the Party's right of free association. See Eu, 489 U.S. at 229-30, 109 S.Ct. at 1023-24 (citing Democratic Party of the U.S., 450 U.S. at 123-24, 101 S.Ct. at 1019-20 and Cousins, 419 U.S. 477, 95 S.Ct. 541); Tashjian, 479 U.S. at 215, 107 S.Ct. at 549.
The fact that the state election law in this case prevented the Patriot Party from nominating only a handful of candidates (those who had already sought the nomination of other political parties) does not necessarily lessen the burden on the Party's associational rights. In order to assess this burden, we must look to the actual effect that the restriction will have on the party. An analogy to Norman v. Reed illustrates this point. In Norman, the Supreme Court reviewed an Illinois decision that barred appellees from appearing on the ballot in a Cook County election as members of the Harold Washington Party ("HWP"). 502 U.S. at 282, 112 S.Ct. at 702. State law prohibited appellees from using the HWP name in Cook County because they had already used that name to establish a party in Chicago. Id. at 286-87, 112 S.Ct. at 703-04. The state court decision, if upheld, would thus have prevented a political party already established in one locality from branching into other parts of the state under the same name.
The Supreme Court reversed the state court decision and held that the court's application of the Illinois law violated the HWP's First Amendment right of free association. Id. at 290, 112 S.Ct. at 706. Even though the statute prevented new political parties from using only a handful of names (those names adopted by preexisting parties), the Court looked to the actual effect that the restriction would have on the HWP. According to the Court, the state court's "Draconian construction of the statute would obviously foreclose the development of any political party lacking the resources to run a statewide campaign." Id. at 289, 112 S.Ct. at 706.
Thus, the fact that the restriction in Norman was so narrowly tailored that it prevented a political party from choosing only the few names that had already been chosen by other political parties was not dispositive. The Court looked instead to the effect that the law would have on the HWP's efforts to organize within the state. Likewise, the fact that the Pennsylvania laws prevent minor political parties from choosing only a few candidates is not dispositive. The critical issue, rather, is the effect of the laws on the ability of minor parties to participate meaningfully in the political process. See William R. Kirschner, Note, Fusion and the Associational Rights of Minor Political Parties, 95 Colum. L.Rev. 683, 699 (1995). As the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has observed, the "simplistic view that the [minor party] can just pick someone else [to be its candidate] does not lessen the burden on the [minor party's] right to nominate its candidate of choice." Twin Cities, 73 F.3d at 198 (citing Norman, 502 U.S. at 289, 112 S.Ct. at 705-06). Because Pennsylvania's election laws prevent the Patriot Party from nominating its standard bearer of choice, those laws place a cognizable constitutional burden on the Party's right to free association.
The Patriot Party next argues that in addition to nullifying its choice of candidate, Pennsylvania's statutory ban on cross-nomination burdens the Party's ability to build an effective political organization. Although most states ban cross-nomination directly or indirectly, ten states, including New York, have a tradition of allowing minor parties to appear on the ballot and "fuse" votes with major parties. See Kirschner, supra at 683, 685 nn. 13-14. In these states, minor parties have exerted considerable and sometimes decisive influence on the outcome of local, state, and national elections. Id. at 683, 700-04. At least one historian has documented that in the late nineteenth century, fusion "helped to maintain a significant third party tradition by guaranteeing that dissenters' votes could be more than symbolic protest, that their leaders could gain office, and that their demands might be heard." Peter H. Argersinger, "A Place on the Ballot": Fusion Politics and Antifusion Laws, 85 Am. Hist. Rev. 287, 288-89 (1980).3
A brief explanation of vote fusion demonstrates its importance to minor parties. See Twin Cities, 73 F.3d at 197-98; Kirschner, supra at 687. In the typical "winner takes all" election, a party's electoral success depends upon its ability to win the election or to contribute meaningfully to a candidate's victory. Minor parties are usually unable to command sufficient votes to win the general election on their own. Therefore, even voters who support the minor party's platform are reluctant to "waste" votes on minor party candidates perceived as having no serious chance of winning. As the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has observed, individuals who support a minor party are confronted with a no-win proposition; they may "cast their votes for candidates with no realistic chance of winning, defect from their party and vote for a major party candidate w