BRIAN MECINAS V. KATIE HOBBS, No. 20-16301 (9th Cir. 2022)
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Plaintiffs, three Arizona voters and three organizations, including the Democratic National Committee, brought this action against the Arizona Secretary of State alleging that the Ballot Order Statute violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments because it gives candidates the benefit of appearing first on the ballot, not on the basis of some politically neutral ordering (such as alphabetically or by lot), but on the basis of political affiliation.
The district court dismissed the complaint on the basis that plaintiffs lack standing and that the complaint presented a nonjusticiable political question. The circuit court panel held that the district court erred in dismissing the suit on these grounds. The panel held that: (1) the DNC satisfied the injury in fact requirement on the basis of its competitive standing; (2) the challenged law was traceable to the Secretary; and (3) having shown that an injunction against the Secretary would significantly increase the likelihood of relief, plaintiffs met their burden as to redressability. The court reasoned that adjudicating a challenge to a ballot order statute did not present the sort of intractable issues that arise in partisan gerrymandering cases. Further, the court rejected the Secretary’s argument that the district court’s dismissal could be affirmed on the alternative ground that she was not the proper defendant under Article III or the Eleventh Amendment. Finally, the panel held that plaintiffs had stated a claim sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss.
Court Description: Civil Rights. The panel reversed the district court’s dismissal of a complaint challenging Arizona’s Ballot Order Statute, A.R.S. § 16-502, which requires that, in each county, candidates affiliated with the political party of the person who received the most votes in that county in the last gubernatorial race be listed first on the general election ballot. Plaintiffs, three Arizona voters and three organizations, including the Democratic National Committee, brought this action against the Arizona Secretary of State alleging that the Ballot Order Statute violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments because it gives candidates the benefit of appearing first on the ballot, not on the basis of some politically neutral ordering (such as alphabetically or by lot), but on the basis of political affiliation. Plaintiffs allege that, for most of the elections that have occurred in Arizona since the Ballot Order Statute was enacted, the Republican Party’s candidates have appeared in the top position in the great majority of Arizona’s general election ballots solely as a result of their political affiliation. Plaintiffs allege that the candidate whose name appears first on a ballot in a contested race receives the benefit resulting from a recognized psychological phenomenon known as “position bias” or the “primacy effect.” MECINAS V. HOBBS 3 The district court dismissed the complaint on the basis that plaintiffs lack standing and that the complaint presented a nonjusticiable political question. The panel held that the district court erred in dismissing the suit on these grounds. Specifically, the panel held at least one of the plaintiffs—the DNC—had standing to bring this suit. The panel held that: (1) the DNC satisfied the injury in fact requirement on the basis of its competitive standing; (2) the challenged law was traceable to the Secretary; and (3) having shown that an injunction against the Secretary would significantly increase the likelihood of relief, plaintiffs met their burden as to redressability. The panel held that plaintiffs’ claims did not present a nonjusticiable political question and that the district court overlooked the narrow scope of the Supreme Court’s decision in Rucho v. Common Cause, 139 S. Ct. 2484, 2491 (2019). Adjudicating a challenge to a ballot order statute did not present the sort of intractable issues that arise in partisan gerrymandering cases. The panel rejected the Secretary’s argument that the district court’s dismissal could be affirmed on the alternative ground that she was not the proper defendant under Article III or the Eleventh Amendment. Finally, the panel held that plaintiffs had stated a claim sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss. The magnitude of the asserted injury was a function of the “primacy effect,” presenting factual questions that could not be resolved on a motion to dismiss. 4 MECINAS V. HOBBS
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