Libertarian Party of N.Y. v. N.Y. Bd. of Elections

539 F.Supp.3d 310

LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF NEW YORK, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.NEW YORK BOARD OF ELECTIONS, et al., Defendants.

20-cv-5820 (JGK)

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

Signed May 13, 2021

Michael Kuzma, Buffalo, NY, for Plaintiffs.

Daniel Robert Lecours, Harris Beach PLLC, Albany, NY, Kelly Foss, Kyle Douglas Gooch, Harris Beach PLLC, Pittsford, NY, Thomas John Garry, Harris Beach PLLC, Uniondale, NY, Elliot Aaron Hallak, for Defendants New York State Board of Elections, Peter S. Kosinski, Andrew J. Spano, Todd D. Valentine, Robert A. Brehm.

Daniel Robert Lecours, Harris Beach PLLC, Albany, NY, Douglas A. Kellner, Kellner Herlihy Getty & Friedman LLP, New York, NY, Kelly Foss, Kyle Douglas Gooch, Harris Beach PLLC, Pittsford, NY, Thomas John Garry, Harris Beach PLLC, Uniondale, NY, Elliot Aaron Hallak, for Defendant Douglas A. Kellner.

OPINION AND ORDER

John G. Koeltl, District Judge:

The Libertarian Party of New York (the "Libertarian Party") and the Green Party of New York (the "Green Party"), together with individual members, have sued the New York Board of Elections (the "NYBOE"), and its chairs, commissioners, and executive directors (together, the "NYBOE Defendants"), alleging that the amendments to the New York Election Law found in Sections 9 and 10 of Part ZZZ of the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year New York State Budget Bill ("Part ZZZ"), violate the plaintiffs’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Section 10 of Part ZZZ amended the overall number of votes required for a political organization to qualify as a "party" and the frequency with which parties must requalify ("Party Qualification Requirement"). Section 9 of Part ZZZ increased the number of signatures required for a candidate to gain access to the ballot by an independent nominating petition ("Petition Requirement").

As amended, the New York Election Law now requires that a political organization's chosen candidate must receive the greater of 130,000 votes or 2 percent of votes cast in the previous presidential or gubernatorial election, whichever is more recent, to qualify as a recognized party. Because the respective presidential candidates of the Libertarian Party and the Green Party both failed to achieve the required vote threshold in the 2020 presidential election, both have been decertified as recognized political parties by the NYBOE. Thus, to gain access to the ballot in 2022, candidates from the Libertarian Party and the Green Party must file independent nominating petitions. For gubernatorial candidates, such nominating petitions must be submitted with signatures from 1 percent of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election (up to 45,000), and at least 1 percent of such enrolled voters (up to 500) must reside in each of one-half of New York's 27 congressional districts.

The plaintiffs have moved for a preliminary injunction to require the NYBOE to reinstate the Libertarian Party and the Green Party as recognized parties for the 2022 gubernatorial election, and to enjoin the NYBOE Defendants from continuing to implement Sections 9 and 10 of Part ZZZ. Because the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that the challenged amendments violate their Constitutional rights, otherwise cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs absent relief at this time, or be against the public interest, their motions are denied .

I.

The plaintiffs have challenged Sections 9 and 10 of Part ZZZ, and thus, this case involves substantially similar facts to those at issue in SAM Party v. Kosinski, 483 F. Supp. 3d 245 (S.D.N.Y. 2020), aff'd sub nom. SAM Party of New York v. Kosinski, 987 F.3d 267 (2d Cir. 2021).¹

A.

Under the Hew York Election Law, a political organization that supports candidates for public office can be designated either as a "party" or an "independent body." N.Y. Elec. Law §§ 1-104(3), (12). Following the challenged amendments contained within Section 10 of Part ZZZ, that took effect on April 3, 2020, a political organization's candidate for governor or president must have received the greater of 130,000 votes, or 2 percent of the total votes cast, in the most recent presidential or gubernatorial election for that organization to qualify as a recognized "party." N.Y. Elec. Law § 1-104(3). A political organization that fails to satisfy such requirements is an "independent body." N.Y. Elec. Law § 1-104(12).

Recognized parties enjoy certain practical benefits that independent bodies do not, such as the authority to maintain a segregated financial account, to which ordinary contributions limits do not apply, for certain expenditures. N.Y. Elec. Law § 14-124(3). Registered parties also appear on voter-registration forms so that voters can register as party members, N.Y. Elec. Law §§ 5-210(5)(k)(x), 5-300, enabling parties greater ease in connecting with potential supporters. Compl. ¶ 25. And, as particularly relevant for this case, each recognized party receives a "berthing" for the winner of the party's nomination process on general election ballots for certain state-wide elections. Brehm Decl. ¶ 5; N.Y. Elec. Law §§ 6-102, 6-104, 6-106, 6-114.²

By contrast, independent bodies are not provided with a guaranteed ballot "berth" and must nominate candidates directly onto the general election ballot, by submitting independent nominating petitions. N.Y. Elec. Law § 6-142. The candidates of independent bodies appear with their political organization's name and emblem on the nominating petition, and, if successful in satisfying the Petition Requirement, on the ballot. N.Y. Elec. Law § 6-138(2)-(3) ; Compl. ¶ 26. Following the challenged amendments in Section 9 of Part ZZZ, nominating petitions for statewide office must be signed by the lesser of 45,000 registered voters or 1 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. N.Y. Elec. Law § 6-142. The signatures are required to be from registered voters who have not yet signed a different petition for the same office. N.Y. Elec. Law § 6-138(1). In addition, of the required signatures, at least 500 (or 1 percent of enrolled voters, whichever is less) must be from signatories residing in each of one-half of the State's 27 congressional districts.

N.Y. Elec. Law § 6-142(1). Finally, the petition can only be circulated during a specific, prescribed 6-week period. N.Y. Elec. Law § 6-138(4).

For 85 years, New York conferred recognized "party" status on any political organization whose candidate in the prior gubernatorial election received at least 50,000 votes. Declaration of Elliot A. Hallak, ECF No. 52 ("Hallak Decl."), Ex. D ¶ 12. Similarly, the number of signatures required for independent nominating petitions was set in 1911 at 6,000, which was then raised in 1922 at 15,000, and then raised again in 1971 to 20,000, before being lowered, in 1992, to 15,000. Declaration of Robert A. Brehm, ECF No. 51 ("Brehm Decl.") ¶¶ 66.³ The 6-week or 42-day collection period for signatures was adopted in 1946. 1946 N.Y. Sess. Laws, Ch. 17, § 137(4).

The amended Party Qualification Requirement and Petition Requirement that the plaintiffs challenge developed from the recommendations of a special commission, established to design a public campaign finance system for New York State and recommend electoral reforms. Part XXX of the 2020 Fiscal Year Enacted Budget created the New York State Campaign Finance Review Commission (the "Commission") as a "public campaign financing and election commission to examine, evaluate and make recommendations for new laws." 2019 N.Y. Sess. Laws, Ch. 59, Part XXX, § 1(a). Part XXX instructed the Commission to make its recommendations "in furtherance of the goals of incentivizing candidates to solicit small contributions, reducing the pressure on candidates to spend inordinate amounts of time raising large contributions for their campaigns, and encouraging qualified candidates to run for office." Id.

The Commission was also instructed to "determine and identify new election laws" relating to, among other things, "rules and definitions governing: candidates’ eligibility for public financing; party qualifications; multiple party candidate nominations and/or designations ..." Id. § 2(j). In addition, Section 3 of Part XXX required that the Commission design the public campaign finance system such that it could be administered with costs under $100 million annually. 2019 N.Y. Sess. Laws Ch. 59, Part XXX § 3. Part XXX required the Commission to submit its report by December 1, 2019 and stated that its recommendation "shall have the full effect of law unless modified or abrogated by statute prior to December 22, 2019. 2019 N.Y. Sess. Laws Ch. 59, Part XXX § 1.

The Commission's Report to the Governor and the Legislature (hereafter, the "Report") included a series of recommendations to, among other things, establish a voluntary public campaign finance system with matching of small-dollar donations up to certain caps for candidates for state office in primary and general elections. Declaration of Michael Kuzma, ECF No. 46-5 ("Kuzma Decl.") Ex. D.

At issue here, the Commission also recommended changing the Party Qualification Requirement's vote threshold to 2 percent of the total votes cast for a party's candidate in the previous gubernatorial or presidential race, or 130,000 votes, whichever is greater. The Commission explained that it made this recommendation because, among other reasons, the "ability of a party to demonstrate bona fide interest from the electorate is paramount in ensuring the success of a public campaign finance system," and that "setting a rational threshold for party ballot access, based on a demonstration of credible levels of support from voters in this state, helps to ensure that the political parties whose candidates will draw down on public funds under the public matching program reflect the novel and distinct ideological identities of the electorate of New Yorkers who ultimately fund this public campaign finance program." Kuzma Decl. Ex. D, at 28; Comp...