Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ayers-Schaffner v. DiStefano, 1st Cir. (1994)
Ayers-Schaffner v. DiStefano, 1st Cir. (1994)
_______________
____________________
September 30, 1994
____________________
____________________
*Of the District of Massachusetts, sitting by designation.
COFFIN,
Senior
Circuit Judge.
_______________________
This
case
poses
an
election to
defective election?
restrict the
those
right to vote
who participated
The district
in the
in a
new,
original,
interest
new election
qualified voters.1
I. Factual Background
__________________
directing
all registered
and
seats
on
the
permitted to vote
positions.
Warwick
for up
School
Committee.
to two candidates
Voters
were
open
Board also
found
that there
election
results
would
procedure
been
used, and
election be conducted.
limited to
have
was
a probability
been different
it
had
consequently ordered
that
the
that
the
correct
a new
in the
original balloting.
____________________
This
voters in
first
action
followed.2
The
plaintiffs
are
registered
vote in the
to be allowed to vote in
the
second one.
They
all
similarly situated
Elections, alleging
brought suit on
Warwick residents
violations of
association, equal
their rights of
Board of
free speech,
as guaranteed by
court ruled
in their
favor, finding
precedent to
Board claims
that its
the
in applying the
circumstances of
restriction on
that no
this case.
voters imposes a
The
minimal
state interests.
Like the
it
of the applicable
whether a
So stated, the
____________________
case
the
fundamental
structure,'" Burdick
_______
and depriving
because
of
failure to
See
___
1978)
our
vote in
an
constitutional
S. Ct. 2059,
of the right
2063 (1992),
to cast a
earlier election
generally Reynolds
_________ ________
(1st Cir.
under
v. Takushi, 112
_______
a qualified voter
inconceivable.
554-55
significance
("[A]ny restrictions
is almost
v. Sims, 377
____
v. Burns, 570
_____
on
ballot
U.S. 533,
[the right
to
vote]
case is not
simply
this
a recreation of the
distinction
inapposite,
lawful
and
version
renders
that no
of
the
defective primary.
the
right-to-vote
precedent bars
defective
maintains
It asserts that
caselaw
largely
effort to
hold a
by
candidates.4
restricting
The Board
the plaintiffs
regularly
its
election
on
because of
scheduled election.
the easy
access provided
to the
The Board's
effort to distinguish
several respects.
this case
is flawed
in
election because
its purpose
is simply to
replicate a
____________________
previous event.
and
deemed
the
Board
objective
of the
identical
to that of the
its results
second
unreliable.
election therefore
original one, to
The
must be
primary
viewed as
To
exclude
them
exclude plaintiffs
from
the only
that
election is
will determine
to
the
the first
time will
original election
for various
reasons, to
or
even death,
eligible,
may intervene.
having
moved
from
Some
the
voters no
area.
In
longer
may be
addition,
some
for the bond issue that was on the ballot, and some of them could
be
expected
candidates.
to
vote
this
time
An identical match
for
the
school
committee
unlikely.
The
burden imposed
ample
by its action
opportunity
tantamount
to
is slight
vote in
the
because plaintiffs
first
election.
This
had
is
However
-5-
While
opportunity
did
not thereby
election.
second
Nor did
waive
to vote in
their interest
in
the outcome
chance to vote
if circumstances
should make
of
the
forego a
a curative
election necessary.
failure
In
to vote in the
warning that
preclude voting in
an
invalid election.5
Third,
articulate
and
most
any
restriction.
brief,6 one is
significantly,
meaningful
Of
the
the Board
interest
seven separate
served
interests
is
by
unable
its
listed in
to
voter
its
rest
____________________
integrity
process.
of
either
As to the
the
original
or
original election, it
overall
electoral
is precisely because
was scheduled,
and outcome is
Indeed, the
Board
might have
followed.
Preserving what
had the
we
have discussed
inevitable
correct procedure
is, as
the
been altered"
changes in
the outcome of
while a legitimate
earlier, not
the
feasible in
availability
of
the
original voters.
____________________
voter participation in elections by informing voters
that they will only get one opportunity to vote in each
election, (5) avoiding the debasement and disillusion
of those votes that were cast in the original election
which would occur if the election were not recreated as
provided in the Board's Decision, (6) not punishing
those voters who took the time and made the effort to
participate in the original election by diluting their
votes, and (7) avoiding the patent unfairness that
could result to those candidates and their supporters
that seemingly prevailed in the original June 7, 1994
primary.
With
the
interest
in
electoral
as
it relates
to that
school committee
candidates.
either
election, or unable to be
election,
integrity
the only
interest in
restriction on voters
Once the Board wiped the slate clean by nullifying the first
election,
what
process"
surrounding
candidates,
original
needed
not
the
election.
Constitution
to
be
the
recreated
selection
particular
of
conditions
See Griffin,
___ _______
protects the
was
570 F.2d
right of
the
"democratic
school
committee
surrounding
at 1079
all citizens
the
n.14 ("The
to democratic
certain result.")
the right
effectively.
of
all
The
qualified
voters
to
cast
their
votes
___
Celebrezze,
__________
U.S.
1,
____
_______
17-18 (1964);
________
Reynolds v.
________
Sims,
____
v. Sanders, 376
_______
377 U.S.
at 554-55.
shakes
supports,
the broad
electoral process.
failure
that
to
vote,
foundation
goal
and
weakens,
of preserving
Indeed, it
precisely
the
rather
integrity of
imposes a penalty
the
course
than
for the
of action
we
the
past
deemed
to characterize
its order
as merely
The states'
-8-
authority
embodied in
carefully
"some
sort
democratic
to
regulate
elections
stems
from
Burdick, 112
_______
chaos,
S.
recognition,
must be structured
rather than
Ct.
accompany the
at 2063
(quoting
(1986) (citing
Wesberry v. Sanders,
________
_______
208, 217
In this
case, the contested order does not implicate the structure of the
____________________
8
It is, of course, well established that states may
restrict the voting privilege
through residency and other
registration requirements. The crucial distinction here is that
the plaintiffs have satisfied
the state's standard voting
requirements.
9
a rational basis
right to
injury
vote.
In light
to the
retroactive limitation on
plaintiffs,
who would
be
the
nature of the
denied the
right
to
cases in support
equivalent action.
cases
access
upholding
inapplicable, as
requirements
ballot
provides
no
justification
The long
line of
are
patently
requirements
of its
reasonable advance
the
retroactive
file declaration
____________________
plaintiff's rights."
precisely as name
(D.R.I. 1991)
appeared on
voting
list).10
The
right-to-vote
cases
also
involve
e.g., Rosario v.
____ _______
advance
party
affiliation
requirement
residence requirements,
requirement).
segment
The
of the
electorate, qualified
party
one-year durational
no federal case
to
for
but rejecting
Board points to
752 (1973)
vote under
in which a
state and
based on
Board's
most
apposite
precedent is
Rhode
Island
Supreme Court
1981),
case, Buonanno v.
________
DiStefano, 430
_________
Board of Elections
A.2d 765
(R.I.
ordered a special
vote in
Court upheld
describing as
As the
Id.
___
however, the
____________________
decision
only scant
limiting the
reference to the
special
election
portion of
the
to those
who
previously
the
had voted,11
petitioner
ruling.
slate"
and,
did not
in fact,
challenge
invalidating
reconstruction of
decide here
only a
whether
the
without constitutional
that aspect
likely that
of
the Board's
whole
election,
portion of
the breadth
of
purposes, it is
voting restriction
it appears
in
called
for
the voting.
We need
not
the voting
limitation
is
but
analysis is
"clean the
a case
limited context
of doubtful support
and
when an
an
the
earlier
Rhode
present case
Island
case
suggests that
more
factually
the state's
high
In Whitman
_______
v. Mott, 114
____
invalidated a
to vote for five of the six candidates when they should have been
limited
to
three votes.
The
Court
scheduled a
new election
11
The court
recognized that
practical difficulties
concerning voter turnout are involved in holding a new election,
but noted that "[a]t least the new election gave to the voters
who had taken the pains to go to the polls a second chance to
express their choice about whom they desired to serve in the
council at-large positions." Id. at 771. The court then stated
___
that "[t]he practical difficulties are far outweighed by the
value served by this remedy." Id.
___
-12-
anyone
eligible to
vote on
the day
specified for
the special
whom he or
she
important and
cherished constitutional
rights,"
42, 43,
460 N.Y.S.2d
Leaks v.
_____
882, 883,
In
a fresh
case,
In this
____________________
12
In
Griffin,
the district
court found
that the
_______
invalidation of absentee and shut-in ballots in a party primary
for a Providence city council seat was unconstitutional.
In
ordering a new election open to all qualified voters, the court
stated:
Although a new election cannot replicate the conditions
of the March 29 election, each qualified voter will
have a full opportunity to cast a ballot, and to have
that ballot counted. The Constitution demands no less,
and the Court can do no more.
we conclude that
is the only
appropriate
See id.13
___ _____
____________________
13
Leaks
also involved a primary
election that was
_____
invalidated.
The election board had ordered a new election
limited only to those voters eligible to participate in the first
________
election.
The Court of Appeals reversed in a brief memorandum
decision, ordering that all voters eligible at the time of the
special election be allowed to vote.
-14-