Case 6:20-cv-00067-DLC Document 3 Filed 09/09/20 Page 1 of 37 Emily Jones [email protected] JONES LAW FIRM 2101 Broadwater Ave. P.O. Box 22537 Billings, MT 59104 Telephone: 406/384-7990 Local Counsel for Plaintiffs James Bopp, Jr. (IN #2838-84)* [email protected] Richard E. Coleson (IN #11527-70)* [email protected] Courtney Turner Milbank (IN #32178-29)* [email protected] Angela Stuedemann (IA #69956)* [email protected] True the Vote, Inc., Voters’ Rights Initiative THE BOPP LAW FIRM, PC 1 South Sixth St. Terre Haute, IN 47807-3510 Telephone: 812/232-2434 *Pro hac vice application forthcoming Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA HELENA DIVISION Joe Lamm, Ravalli County Republican Central Committee, Jeff Wagner, Case No.: ___________________ Sylvia Wagner, Fiona Nave, Brent Nave, Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs’ Preliminary- v. Injunction Memorandum Stephen Bullock, in his official capacity as Governor of Montana; Corey Stapleton, in his official capacity as Secretary of State of Montana, Defendants. Pls.’ Prel. Inj. Mem. Case 6:20-cv-00067-DLC Document 3 Filed 09/09/20 Page 2 of 37 Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................1 Facts.............................................................1 A. Montana’s safe system of in-person with no-excuse-absentee voting complies with Phase 2 reopening rules, obviating any justification for the Plan.....................................................1 B. As a matter of law, mailed ballots pose the greater fraud risk...........3 C. A sudden flood of mailed ballots poses serious risks to the right to vote. 4 D. Voters are irreparably harmed by the Plan..........................8 Standing..........................................................9 Argument........................................................14 I. Voters are likely to succeed on the merits. ........................14 A. The Plan violates the Elections Clause. .......................14 B. The Plan violates the right to vote by imposing the substan- tial risk of vote-dilution disenfranchisement the legislative balancing rejected.........................................15 C. The Plan violates the right to vote by imposing the substan- tial risk of direct disenfranchisement the legislative balanc- ing rejected..............................................22 D. The Plan violates the right to vote and equal protection by empowering voters in some counties over others................24 II. A preliminary injunction is necessary to prevent irreparable harm to constitutional rights. .........................................26 III. The balance of equities and the public interest support injunctive relief......................................................27 Conclusion.......................................................28 Certificate of Compliance ...........................................29 Certificate of Service...............................................30 Pls.’ Prel. Inj. Mem. ii Case 6:20-cv-00067-DLC Document 3 Filed 09/09/20 Page 3 of 37 Table of Authorities Cases Andrade v. NAACP of Austin, 345 S.W.3d 1 (Tex. 2011) ................ 10-11 Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428 (1992) ...................... 18-19, 22-23 Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000) ............................. 9, 15, 24-25 Cook v. Gralike, 531 U.S. 510 (2001) ..................................14 Crawford v. Marion Cty. Elect’n Bd., 553 U.S. 181 (2008) .... 3, 4, 16, 17, 20-23 FEC v. Akins, 524 U.S. 11 (1998) .....................................11 Fla. Democratic Party v. Scott, 215 F. Supp. 3d 1250 (N.D. Fla. 2016) .......27 Georgia Republican Party v. SEC, 886 F.3d 1198 (11th Cir. 2018) ..........12 Giovani Carandola v. Bason, 303 F.3d 507 (4th Cir. 2002) .................27 Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418 (2006) ........................................................14 Gray v. Sanders, 372 U.S. 368 (1963) .................................25 Griffin v. Roupas, 385 F.3d 1128 (7th Cir. 2004) .................... 3, 16-17 League of Women Voters of N.C. v. North Carolina, 769 F.3d 224 (4th Cir. 2014) .............................................................26 Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992) ................. 9-10, 12 LWV of N.C. v. North Carolina, 769 F.3d 224 (4th Cir. 2014) ...............19 Moore v. Ogilvie, 394 U.S. 814 (1969) .................................25 Ne. Ohio Coal. for the Homeless v. Husted, 696 F.3d 580 (6th Cir. 2012) .....19 Pls.’ Prel. Inj. Mem. iii Case 6:20-cv-00067-DLC Document 3 Filed 09/09/20 Page 4 of 37 Purcell v. Gonzalez, 549 U.S. 1 (2006) .................................18 Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964) ..............................18, 26 RNC v. DNC, 140 S. Ct. 1205 (2020) ...................................4 Short v. Brown, 893 F.3d 671 (9th Cir. 2018) .........................13, 26 Summers v. Earth Island Institute, 555 U.S. 488 (2009) ....................12 Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, 573 U.S. 149 (2014) ...................13 United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739 (1987) ........................ 21-23 United States v. SCRAP, 412 U.S. 660 (1973) ...........................11 Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7 (2008) ...................13 Constitutions, Statutes, and Rules MCA 10-3-104(2)(a) ...............................................14 MCA 10-3-104(2)(c) ...............................................15 MCA 13-1-101(17) .................................................1 MCA 13-13 .....................................................1, 2 MCA 13-19 .......................................................1 MCA 13-19-104(3)(a) ............................................1, 14 Mont. Const. art. III, § 1 ............................................14 Mont. Const. art. IV, § 3 ............................................14 U.S. Const. amend. I ............................................ 11, 26 U.S. Const. amend. XIV ...................................... 11, 25-26 Pls.’ Prel. Inj. Mem. iv Case 6:20-cv-00067-DLC Document 3 Filed 09/09/20 Page 5 of 37 U.S. Const. art. I, § 4, cl. 1 .................................. 11, 14, 16 U.S. const. art. II, § 1, cl. 2 ..........................................15 U.S. Const. art. IV, para. 2 ...........................................11 U.S. Const. pmbl...................................................12 Other Authorities Akpan, What Fauci says the U.S. really needs to reopen safely, National Geograhic, Aug. 13, 2020, nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/08/what- anthony-fauci-says-united-states-really-needs-to-reopen-safely-cvd/ .......2 Gov. Bullock, Directive implementing Executive Orders 2-2020 and 3-2020 and establishing conditions for Phase Two (May 19, 2020), available at covid19.mt.gov/Portals/223/Documents/Phase%20Two%20Directive%20w ith%20Appendices.pdf?ver=2020-05-19-145442-350 ...................1 CDC, Considerations for Election Polling Locations and Voters (updated June 22, 2020), cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/election-polling- locations.html ..................................................2 Commission on Federal Election Reform, Building Confidence in U.S. Elec- tions (2005) ....................................................3 Corasaniti & Saul, Inside Wisconsin’s Election Mess: Thousands of Missing or Nullified Ballots, N.Y. Times, Apr. 9, 2020, nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/politics/wisconsin-election-absentee-coronavirus. html ..........................................................6 E. Chemerinsky, Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies (3d ed. 2006) 10-11 Fessler & Moore, More than 550,000 Primary Ballots Rejected in 2020, Far Outpacing 2016, NPR, Aug. 22, 2020, npr.org/2020/08/22/904693468/more-than-550-000-primary-absentee- ballots-rejected-in-2020-far-outpacing-2016 ..........................5 Florio, 46 Montana counties file mail ballot plans, Sept. 4, 2020, missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/46-montana- Pls.’ Prel. Inj. Mem. v Case 6:20-cv-00067-DLC Document 3 Filed 09/09/20 Page 6 of 37 counties-file-mail-ballot- plans/article_b14cfead-9bbc-5601-95c3-d69c0a0563f0.html ..........8, 24 Kaufman, Postal service warns nearly every state it may not be able to delivery ballots in time based on current election rules, CNN, Aug. 15, 2020, cnn.com/2020/08/14/politics/usps-warn-states-mail-in-ballot-delivery/inde x.html.........................................................6 Levine, Confessions of a voter fraud: I was a master at fixing mail-in ballots, The New York Post, August 29, 2020, nypost.com/2020/08/29/political- insider-explains-voter-fraud-with-mail-in-ballots .......................4 Manfredi, USPS officials worry “supply chain” issues could impact mail bal- lots: Report, Fox Business, September 3, 2020, foxbusiness.com/politics/senior-usps-officials-worried-issues-in-the- supply-chain-could-prevent-voters-from-receiving-ballots-in-time-for-elec- tion-day-report..................................................6 Mauger, ‘This can’t go on’: Detroit primary ballots went unchecked, GOP poll challengers say, Detroit News, Sept. 2, 2020, detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/02/republican-observers-say- detroit-ballots-went-unchecked/5680540002/ .........................6 Moretti, What are costs of voting by mail?, Electionline.org (2020), electionline.org/electionline-weekly/2020/04-23 .......................7 Norden et al., Brennan Center for Justice, Report: Estimated Costs of Covid-19 Election Resiliency Measures