Filed Date: Aug. 10, 2020
Closed Date: Sept. 22, 2020
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This is a case about Montana invalidating ballots of the Green Party, after a primary election was concluded. On August 11, 2020, the plaintiffs who represented candidates for state office and Green Party voters filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court in the District of Montana, Helena Division. The plaintiffs sued Corey Stapleton in his official capacity as the Secretary of State of Montana under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Montana Democratic Party and several voters moved to intervene in the lawsuit, which was granted by the court on August 14. 2020. Represented by private counsel, the plaintiffs sought declaratory relief from the court and a temporary injunction prohibiting the Secretary of State from omitting Green Party candidates from the ballot who were elected during the primary election, per a previous Montana state court order, as well as attorney’s fees. The case was assigned to Judge Dana Christensen.
On March 6, 2020, the Secretary of State of Montana certified the Green Party’s ballot qualification petition to qualify for the Primary election ballot. The Plaintiffs and approximately 800 Montana voters had completed their Green Party ballots and submitted to election officials before the primary election on June 2, 2020, per the directions mailed to voters by the office of the Secretary of State. Montana voters may only complete one party ballot for primary elections; those who chose to complete a Green Party ballot could not complete a ballot for any other party. The day before the primary election, the Montana Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in State Court to invalidate the Green Party’s petition and to remove the Green Party from the primary ballot. After the qualification petition for the Green Party ballot had met the requirement to qualify for the ballot, several signers had requested to withdraw their signatures, causing the qualification petition to fall below the threshold required to qualify the Green Party for the ballot. On August 7, 2020, the state court enjoined the Secretary of State from giving effect to the Green Party’s qualification petition for the primary ballot. The Montana court had found that the Montana Republican Party had funded and mobilized voters to sign the Green Party’s qualification petition, which had led many of the signatories of the qualification petition to withdraw their signatures en masse.
Plaintiffs alleged that the Montana state court’s ruling violated their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process, as the election was “conducted in a manner that is fundamentally unfair” (citing Bennett v. Yoshina, 140 F. 3d 1218, 1226), as the voters relied on the established election procedure about the primary election and a significant number of voters would be disenfranchised by the ruling. The Intervenor Defendants opposed the Plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order and argued that the court should abstain under the Pullman doctrine, as the state court case was being appealed.
The Court’s opinion, dated August 19, 2020, denied the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order. The Court evaluated whether the plaintiffs were entitled to the preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order, applying the Ninth Circuit standard. First, the Court evaluated whether the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of the Due Process claim. The Court rejected Plaintiff’s claim that Montana voters relied on an established election procedure, as there was no precedent for the withdrawal of signatures from a ballot qualification petition. Further, the court noted that rather than “significant disenfranchisement” the Plaintiffs faced “garden variety election irregularities” that did not rise to the level of being “fundamentally unfair”. Further, the Court found that while the Plaintiffs had demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm in having their lawfully cast ballots disregarded, if the court were to issue injunctive relief, the Intervenor-Defendants would also face irreparable harm in having their withdrawn signatures to the qualification petition go un-honored. The Court emphasized that the public interest and the equitable considerations favor refusing to interfere with the state’s administration of its own election laws and “allowing the state’s judiciary and legislation to function without any unnecessary federal intervention”, thereby denying plaintiff’s motion.
The plaintiffs appealed the denial of the temporary restraining order to the Ninth Circuit on August 19, 2020, but later voluntarily dismissed the appeal on September 18, 2020. The Ninth Circuit dismissed the appeal on September 22, 2020.
Summary Authors
(2/28/2024)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17433460/parties/davis-v-stapleton/
Christensen, Dana Lewis (Montana)
Gordon, Matthew P. (Montana)
James, Austin M. (Montana)
Meloy, Peter M. (Montana)
Milanovich, Anita Y. (Montana)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17433460/davis-v-stapleton/
Last updated Jan. 30, 2025, 6:13 p.m.
State / Territory: Montana
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Aug. 10, 2020
Closing Date: Sept. 22, 2020
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Several Green Party Candidates and voters who voted in the primary election in 2020.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Democratic Party of Montana, Political Party
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Voting: