National Association for Gun Rights, Inc. v. Mangan, No. 18-35010 (9th Cir. 2019)
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The Association filed suit challenging Montana's electioneering disclosure laws on First Amendment grounds. Under Montana law, an organization that makes an expenditure of more than $250 on a single electioneering communication must register as a political committee, subject to certain organizational and disclosure requirements. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for Montana except with respect to one provision.
Like the disclosure provisions the panel approved in Human Life of Washington Inc. v. Brumsickle, 624 F.3d 990, 1016 (9th Cir. 2010), and Yamada v. Snipes, 786 F.3d 1182 (9th Cir. 2015), the panel held that most of Montana's disclosure and related requirements are substantially related to important governmental interests connected with informing the electorate. However, the panel held that only Montana's requirement that organizations designate a treasurer registered to vote in Montana is constitutionally infirm. In this case, the requirement was not substantially related to any important governmental interest, and was severable from the rest of the disclosure regime.
Court Description: Civil Rights. The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s summary judgment in favor of Montana defendants in an action brought by the National Association of Gun Rights, a non-profit advocacy group, challenging Montana’s electioneering disclosure laws on First Amendment grounds. Under Montana law, an organization that makes an expenditure of more than $250 on a single electioneering communication must register as a political committee, subject to certain organizational and disclosure requirements. An electioneering communication is, in part, a paid communication made within 60 days of the initiation of voting in an election, that can be received by more than 100 recipients in a voting district and that refers to candidates, political parties or ballot issues. Mont. Code Ann. § 13-1-101(16). Plaintiff filed suit asserting that the State’s definition of electioneering communication was both * The Honorable John R. Tunheim, Chief United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota, sitting by designation. NAGR V. MANGAN 3 facially overbroad in violation of the First Amendment and unconstitutional as applied to plaintiff. Plaintiff alleged that the First Amendment permits states to require disclosure only of express advocacy and its functional equivalent. Plaintiff asserted that because its proposed mailers did not specifically advocate for or against a specific candidate, but just provided information about a candidate’s position on Second Amendment issues, plaintiff could not constitutionally be required to comply with Montana’s disclosure requirements. The panel held that the First Amendment does not limit states’ election disclosure requirements solely to regulating express advocacy. The panel reasoned that requiring disclosure of information related to subtle and indirect communications likely to influence voters’ votes was critical to the State’s interest in promoting transparency and discouraging circumvention of its electioneering laws. Applying exacting scrutiny, the panel held that like the disclosure provisions that were approved in Human Life of Washington Inc. v. Brumsickle, 624 F.3d 990, 1016 (9th Cir. 2010) and Yamada v. Snipes, 786 F.3d 1182 (9th Cir. 2015), most of Montana’s disclosure and related requirements were substantially related to important governmental interests connected with informing the electorate. The panel held that only Montana’s requirement pursuant to §§ 13-37-203, that organizations designate a treasurer registered to vote in Montana, was constitutionally infirm. The panel held that the registered-Montana-voter requirement was not substantially related to any important governmental interest. The panel also held, however, that the registered-voter provision was severable from the rest of the Montana disclosure regime, which could remain in force. The panel therefore affirmed the district court’s summary 4 NAGR V. MANGAN judgment in favor of Montana except with respect to the treasurer provision.
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