Libertarian Party Los Angeles, et al v. Bowen, No. 11-55316 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs brought a pre-enforcement action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against defendant, the California Secretary of State. At issue were the California Elections Code sections 8066 and 8451, which mandated that circulators shall be voters in the district or political subdivision in which the candidate was to be voted on and shall serve only in that district or political subdivision. Plaintiffs alleged that the residency requirement violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments and sought to enjoin its enforcement. The court reversed and remanded the district court's dismissal of the complaint on the ground that plaintiffs lacked standing, holding that plaintiffs have alleged a sufficient injury-in-fact to meet constitutional standing requirements. In light of plaintiffs' concrete plan and defendant's specific threat of enforcement, the court concluded that plaintiffs have met the constitutional "case or controversy" requirement.
Court Description: Civil Rights. The panel reversed the district court’s dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint challenging California Elections Code sections 8066 and 8451, which mandate that “circulators,” who gather signatures from registered voters for a candidate’s nomination papers, must reside in the political subdivision where they are gathering signatures. The panel held that the district court erred by dismissing plaintiffs’ pre-enforcement challenge for lack of standing. The panel held in light of plaintiffs’ concrete plan to violate the law and defendants’ communication of a specific warning of a threat of enforcement, plaintiffs had met the constitutional case or controversy requirement. The panel remanded for further proceedings.
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