Davis, Jr. v. Commonwealth Election Commission, No. 14-16090 (9th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseThe Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, pursuant to Article XVIII, section 5(c) of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Constitution, restricts voting in certain elections to individuals of "Northern Marianas descent" (NMDs). Plaintiff filed suit alleging that this restriction is race-based and violates the Fifteenth Amendment. The district court granted plaintiff declaratory and injunctive relief and required that non-NMDs be permitted to vote in the November 2014 special election. The court concluded that the voting restriction in Article XVIII, section 5(c) would divide the citizenry of the Commonwealth between NMDs and non-NMDs when voting on amendments to a property restriction that affects everyone. The court explained that the Fifteenth Amendment aims to prevent precisely this sort of division in voting. Because Article XVIII, section 5(c) relies on ancestral distinctions to limit voting in a territory-wide election in the Commonwealth, it violates the Fifteenth Amendment. The court rejected the remaining arguments and affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Civil Rights. The panel affirmed the district court’s order on summary judgment granting declaratory and injunctive relief to plaintiff, who alleged that Article XVIII, section 5(c) of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Constitution – which restricts voting in certain elections to individuals of Northern Mariana Islands descent – unconstitutionally limits voting on the basis of race. The panel noted that the voting restriction in Article XVIII, section 5(c) would divide the citizenry of the Commonwealth between Northern Mariana Descent and non- Northern Mariana Descent when voting on amendments to a property restriction that affects everyone. The panel determined that the Fifteenth Amendment aims to prevent precisely this sort of division in voting. The panel held that the voter restriction in Article XVIII, section 5(c) is race- based and therefore violates the Fifteenth Amendment. DAVIS V. COMMONWEALTH ELECTION COMM’N 3
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