UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ------X : PHILIP PIDOT, NANCY HAWKINS and : STEVEN AXELMAN, individually and as : representatives of eligible Republican Party voters : in Suffolk, Nassau and Counties within : New York’s Third Congressional District, : : Plaintiffs, : : v. : : NEW YORK STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS; : SUFFOLK COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS; : Civil Action No. 1:16-cv-00859-FJS-CFH NASSAU COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS; :

BOARD OF ELECTIONS IN THE CITY OF NEW : YORK; PETER KOSINSKI and DOUGLAS : KELLNER, in their official capacities as : Commissioners and Co-Chairs of the New York : State Board of Elections; ANDREW J. SPANO and : GREGORY P. PETERSON, in their official : capacities as Commissioners of the New York State : Board of Elections; TODD D. VALENTINE and : ROBERT A. BREHM, in their official capacities as : Co-Executive Directors of the New York State : Board of Elections; and JACK MARTINS, : : Defendants. : ------X

MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE RESERVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP MetLife Building, 200 Park Avenue New York, New York 10166 Tel: (212) 801-9200 Fax: (212) 801-6400 E-mail: [email protected]

Attorneys for Amici Curiae Reserve Officers Association

The Reserve Officers Association (“ROA”) hereby moves for leave to file the accompanying amicus brief in the above-captioned case in support of Defendant-Intervenor’s

Motion for Relief from Judgment.

For almost 100 years, ROA has been the only organization dedicated to supporting

Reservists and their critical role in national defense. ROA provides guidance and advice to members of Congress related to Reservists, including regularly testifying before Congress as expert witness in support of specific national defense issues. Among ROA’s many efforts is calling for improvements in voting procedures for absentee uniformed services and overseas voters. For example, ROA was an influential force behind the requirement that states provide printed ballots for military personnel and overseas citizens no later than 45 days before a federal election. Compliance with that 45-day requirement is at the heart of the issues in this matter.

ROA has a vested interest in ensuring military personnel and overseas citizens from New York’s

Third Congressional District are afforded the voting rights to which they are entitled.

“There is no governing standard, rule or statute ‘prescrib[ing] the procedure for obtaining leave to file an amicus brief in the district court.’” Onondaga Indian Nation v. New York, 1997

U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9168, at *2 (N.D.N.Y. June 25, 1997). Rather, “[a] district court has broad discretion to grant or deny an appearance as amicus curiae.” Andersen v. Leavitt, 2007 U.S. Dist.

LEXIS 59108, at *6 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2007) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

So long as the information is useful and timely, the Court may grant leave. Id. “In making the determination, courts often rely on principles set out by the Seventh Circuit” which are that:

An amicus brief should normally be allowed when a party is not represented competently or is not represented at all, when the amicus has an interest in some other case that may be affected by the decision in the present case (though not enough affected to entitle the amicus to intervene and become a party in the present case), or when the amicus has unique information or perspective that can help the court beyond the help that the lawyers for the parties are able to provide.

C&A Carbone, Inc. v. Cty. of Rockland, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38658, at 12 (S.D.N.Y. 2014)

(quoting Ryan v. CFTC, 125 F.3d 1062, 1063 (7th Cir. 1997).).

Here, whether military members and overseas voters will have an opportunity to weigh in on the general election for the Third Congressional District seat is of supreme importance to the public interest. Indeed, when the voting rights of our own military are not held sacrosanct, then all our voting rights are at risk. ROA offers information to the Court that would be useful in determining whether moving the general election for New York’s Third Congressional District seat is warranted to ensure that the voting rights of military members and overseas voters are protected; and whether not holding a primary would disenfranchise voters. As an organization that advocated for inclusion of a 45-day absentee ballot transmission deadline into the

Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (“UOCAVA”), ROA offers a unique perspective that can aid the court. See Andersen, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59108, at *16-17

(granting leave to file when amicus brief “presents the Court with a unique perspective that may help the Court in its determination of the issues presented”).

Additionally, while “the partiality of a would-be amicus is a factor to consider… [and] there is no rule…that amici must be totally disinterested,” ROA wants to make clear that it has no interest whatsoever in which candidate is ultimately elected to represent the Third

Congressional District. James Square Nursing Home v. Wing, 897 F. Supp. 682, 683 n. 2

(N.D.N.Y 1995). What ROA is vitally interested in is ensuring that the New York State Board of Elections complies with UOCAVA. Thus, ROA’s motion for leave would not be prejudicial to any party. Finally, ROA’s motion is timely; no judgment on Defendant-Intervenor’s motion for relief has been entered yet. Therefore, allowing ROA leave to file an amicus will not cause any unnecessary delay. Andersen, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59108, at *18 (granting motion to file amicus brief when “there will be no unnecessary delay by allowing its filling before the Court files its judgment”).

For these reasons, ROA respectfully request that the Court grant this motion for leave to file the accompanying amicus curiae brief.

Dated: New York, New York August 24, 2016

Respectfully submitted, GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP

By: Laurence Levy (Bar Roll No. 517725) Robert M. Harding (Bar Roll No. 506283) Jennifer M. Gomez (Bar Roll. No. 520204) Greenberg Traurig, LLP MetLife Building 200 Park Avenue New York, NY 10166 Tel: (212) 801-9200 Fax: (212) 801-6400

Attorneys for Amici Curiae Reserve Officers Association

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