Lead Opinion
Sеveral groups interested in electoral and governmental reform sued the Secretary of State, and Ramsey and Hennepin county election officials (“Minnesota”). Minnesota moved for dismissal, which the district court granted. The groups appeal as to the claims under the First Amendment and the Equal Protection clause.
Election Integrity Watch (“EIW”) is comprised of Minnesota Majority, Minnesota Voters Alliance, and the North Star Tea Party Patriots. These groups assert as their mission the improvement of government and governmental processes. Minnesota Majority and Minnesota Voters Alliance advocate electoral reforms. None is a political party, and none endorsed a candidate or ballot issue in the November 2010 election. Before the election, EIW produced “Please I.D. Me” buttons. North Star Tea Party Patriots produced hats and t-shirts with Tea Party logos. The t-shirts also featured either a drawing of a shield or one of several slogans, including: “Don’t tread on me,” “Liberty,” ‘We’ll Remember in November,” and “Fiscal Responsibility, Limited Government, Free Markets.”
Shortly before the November 2010 election, EIW sought to enjoin the enforcement of the third sentence of Minn.Stat. § 211B.11, subd. 1: “A political badge, political button, or other political insignia may not be worn at or about the polling place on primary or election day.” Violation of this sentence is a petty misdemean- or. Minn.Stat. § 211B.11, subd. 4. The first sentence of Minn.Stat. § 211B.11, subd. 1 generally prohibits displaying campaign material or trying to persuade a voter about a candidate or ballot question within a polling place or within 100 feet of the polling place’s building.
On the eve of the election, the district court denied a temporary restraining order. Minnesota then distributed an Election Day Policy explaining the statutory ban on political materials in polling places. The Policy gives examples of political materials, including: “[ijssue oriented material designed to influence or impact voting (including specifically the ‘Please I.D. Me’ buttons)” and “[mjaterial promoting a group with recognizable political views (such as the Tea Party, MoveOn.org, and so on).” The Policy instructed election judges to ask persons wearing political material to cover or remove it. If they refused, the Policy instructed election judges to record their names and addresses for potential рrosecution but to permit them to vote.
At least three EIW members were affected by the Policy. One was asked to cover or remove his t-shirt. Another who refused to cover or remove his button had his name and address recorded. Yet another who was wearing both a t-shirt and a button was delayed several hours before voting. EIW asserts that the fear of prosecution stopped others from displaying the apparel. Still others who were wearing materials from EIW and other similar organizаtions voted without incident.
After the election, EIW amended its complaint to challenge the constitutionality of Minn.Stat. § 211B.11, subd. 1 and the Policy issued under it. The district court granted Minnesota’s motion to dismiss.
This court reviews de novo the grant of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Butler v. Bank of Am., N.A.,
A court reviewing a motion to dismiss may also “consider some public records, materials that do not contradict the complaint, or materials that are ‘necessarily embraced by thе pleadings.’ ” Noble Sys. Corp. v. Alorica Cent., LLC,
II.
EIW alleges that Minn.Stat. § 211B.11, subd. 1 is facially unconstitutional. To succeed in a typical facial attack, EIW would have to establish “that no set of circumstances exists under which [§ 211B.11, subd. 1] would be valid,” or that the statute lacks any “plainly legitimаte sweep.” United States v. Stevens,
The First Amendment prohibits laws “abridging the freedom of speech.” U.S. Const, amend. I. “Nothing in the Constitution requires the Government freely to grant access to all who wish to exercise their right to free speech on every type of Government property without regard to the nature of the property or to the disruption that might be caused by the speaker’s activities.” Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Def. & Educ. Fund, Inc.,
In Burson v. Freeman,
EIW’s challenge includes the first sentence of Minn.Stat. § 211B.11, subd. 1 (prohibiting solicitation inside or within 100 feet of the polling place). To that extent, the Burson case defeats a facial attack on the first sentence of Minn.Stat. § 211B.11, subd. 1.
The third sentence of the Minnesota statute apрlies only within (“at or about”) the polling place. Minn.Stat. § 211B.11, subd. 1 (“A political badge, political button, or other political insignia may not be worn at or about the polling place on primary or election day.”). A polling place is a nonpublic forum. See, e.g., PG Publ’g Co. v. Aichele,
EIW believes that by Eighth Circuit precedent, a polling place is a public forum. This court has stated in passing that “the area containing the voting booths” was “a designated public forum” on the date it was being used for voting. Embry v. Lewis,
A restriction on sрeech in a nonpublic forum is not subject to strict scrutiny and is permissible if it is viewpoint neutral and “reasonable in light of the purpose which the forum at issue serves.” Perry Educ. Ass’n v. Perry Local Educators’ Ass’n,
Restrictions on speech in a nonpublic forum, to be valid, must also be “reasonable in light of the purpose which the forum at issue serves.” Id. at 49,
EIW’s complaint states that Minnesota has applied the statute to material that does not attempt to persuade or influence voters to vote for or against any partiсular political party, candidate, or question on the ballot. Other courts have applied Burson to uphold bans on material unrelated to any issue on the ballot. Citizens for Police Accountability Political Comm. v. Browning,
EIW has failed to state a facial claim under the First Amendment against Minn. Stat. § 211B.11, subd. I.
EIW claims that the statute and the Election Day Policy are unconstitutional as applied. “An as-applied challenge consists of a challenge to the statute’s application only as-applied to the party before the court.” Republican Party of Minn., Third Cong. Dist. v. Klobuchar,
A.
Under the First Amendment, the statute and Policy are constitutional as applied to EIW if their application to EIW is viewpoint neutral and “reasonable in light of the purpose which the forum at issue serves.” Perry Educ. Ass’n,
As to the reasonableness of the statute’s and Policy’s application to EIW, the district court considered “matters outside the pleadings.” See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(d). For example, the district court found that “[t]he language on the [“Please I.D. Me”] button intimates that government-issued identification should be — or is — required in order to vote in Minnesota. This intimation could confuse voters and election officials and cause voters to refrain from voting because of increased delays or the misapprehension that identification is required.” The complaint does not include these facts; the district court “must have been referencing argument and evidence from some source outside the four corners of the complaint.” McAuley v. Fed. Ins. Co.,
B.
EIW argues that the Minnesota statute and Policy denied it equal protection in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. “The Equal Protection Clause generally requires the government to treat similarly situated people alike.” Klinger v. Dep’t of Corr.,
EIW argues that election judges selectively enforced the statute- and the Policy. Even if the complaint adequately described how the statute and Policy were enforced differently among similarly situated people (including among people who wore the “Please I.D. Me” buttons), the complaint must also allege that Minnesota caused the selective enforcement. Madewell v. Roberts,
Because the statute and Policy do not “affirmatively sanction” selective enforcement, this court analyzes the claim against the municipalities and the official-capacity defendants under the “deliberate indifference” standard of City of Canton v. Harris,
This court has not reviewed a suit against an individual-capacity defendant who wrote a policy so standardless that it caused selective enforcement. The closest analogy is suing an individual-capacity defendant for failure to train subordinates, causing selective enforcement. A supervisor may be individually liable for failure to train subordinates if it amounts to deliberate indifference to the rights of persons whom the subordinates harm. Parrish,
EIW has failed to allege that Minnesota caused selective enforcement of the facially neutral statute and Policy, and has therefоre failed to state an equal protection claim.
Notes
. The groups assert the same claims under the Minnesota Constitution. These claims are evaluated using the same standard as those under the U.S. Constitution. Tatro v. Univ. of Minn.,
. EIW notes that the statute does not define "political.” EIW, however, does not include the word "vague” or "vagueness” in its argument to this court. EIW has waived its vaguеness challenge by failing to brief it to
. The dissent suggests that Minnesota's action is unconstitutional absent examples of actual disruption. That showing is not required. See, e.g., Burson,
. Contrary to the dissent’s assertion, it is of no consequence that Browning and Schirmer address laws regulating exit polling (after citizens already voted). ”[C]ommotion tied to exit solicitation is as capable of intimidating and confusing the electorate and impeding the voting process — even deterring potential voters from coming to the polls — as other kinds of political canvassing or political action around the polls.” Browning,
.EIW’s new argument that some state officials are Democrats (and its organization's members are not) is not enough to state a
Concurrence Opinion
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I am pleased to concur with the majority’s decision holding (1) that the district court improperly considered matters outside the pleadings when dismissing the plaintiffs’ as-applied challenge and (2) that the plaintiffs have failed to state an equal protection claim. Because I respectfully disagree with the majoritys conclusion that the statutory restrictions, which ban the wearing of any political insignia, are reasonable in light of the need to maintain “peace, order, and decorum,” to “protect[ ] voters from confusion and undue influence,” and to “preserv[e] the integrity of its election process” in the polling place, I dissent from the affirmance of the district court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claim that the statute is facially unconstitutional.
As the majority points out, for the speech restrictions in the polling place to survive constitutional scrutiny, the restrictions must be “viewpoint neutral and ‘reasonable in light of the purpose which the forum at issue serves.’ ” See supra at 1057 (quoting Perry Educ. Ass’n v. Perry Local Educators’ Ass’n,
I do not, however, agree that Burson may be applied to this statute to uphold the restrictions on the wearing of any political insignia in the polling place. The Tennessee statute at issue in Burson stated:
Within the appropriate boundary as established in subsection (a) [100 feet from the entrances], and the building in which the polling place is located, the display of campaign posters, signs or other campaign materials, distribution of campaign materials, and solicitation of votes for or against any person or political party or position on a question are prohibited.
Id. at 193-94,
The majority cites Citizens for Police Accountability Political Comm. v. Browning,
Accordingly, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s affirmance of the district court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs’ facial challenge as to the third sentence of Minnesota Statute § 211B.11, subd. 1. I would remand to аllow the record to be developed regarding plaintiffs’ facial challenge. Otherwise, I concur with the majority’s opinion.
. I also agree with the majority that EIW has waived any vagueness challenge by failing to brief it to this court. The district court likewise determined "that the Amended Complaint does not allege that Minnesota Statutes section 21 IB. 11 is void for vagueness.” (Order at 14-15.) It would appear, then, that plaintiffs are not barred from raising such a challenge in the future.
. For example, how does thе wearing of a button or shirt bearing an American flag or the Star of David, which could arguably be considered political under this statute, disrupt the "peace, order, and decorum" of the voting booth? I do not accept that the presence of a passive and peaceful voter who happens to wear a shirt displaying, for example, the words "American Legion,” "Veterans of Foreign Wars,” "AFL-CIO,” "NRA,” "NAACP,” or the logo of one of these organizations (all of which have actively participated in the political process) somehow causes a disruption in the polling place or confuses or unduly influences voters.
