Madera v. Detzner
Madera v. Detzner
Opinion of the Court
Here we are again. The clock hits 6:00 a.m. Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" starts playing. Denizens of and visitors to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania eagerly await the groundhog's prediction. And the state of Florida is alleged to violate federal law in its handling of elections.
Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Unique among Americans, they are not educated primarily in English-and do not need to be. But, like all American citizens, they possess the fundamental right to vote. The issue in this case is whether Florida officials, consistent with longstanding federal law, must provide assistance to Puerto Rican voters who wish to vote. Under the plain language of the Voting Rights Act, they must.
This Court has considered, after a hearing on September 5, 2018, Defendant Kenneth Detzner's motion to dismiss, ECF No. 42, and Plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. ECF No. 2. Defendant Detzner's motion is DENIED . Having balanced the equities, Plaintiffs' motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part .
I
While lost on some, Puerto Rico is part of the United States.
Florida has 67 counties. Thirteen counties provide Spanish-language ballots in compliance with another provision of the Voting Rights Act.
*1275Plaintiff Marta Valentina Rivera Madera was born in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico. ECF No. 25, at ¶ 2. She attended elementary, middle, and high school in San Juan, Puerto Rico where instruction was mostly in Spanish.
In September 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. As a direct result of that natural calamity, Ms. Rivera Madera moved to Gainesville, Florida where her daughter lives in October.
Plaintiffs Mi Familia Vote Education Fund, Hispanic Federation, Faith in Florida, UnidosUS, and Vamos4PR ("Organizational Plaintiffs") are non-profit organizations dedicated to, among other things, community organizing and promoting civic engagement-including voter outreach-in the Latino community. ECF No. 2, Ex. 5, at ¶¶ 2-6, Ex. 6, at ¶¶ 3-6, Ex. 7, at ¶¶ 3-5, Ex. 8, at ¶¶ 3-5, Ex. 9, at ¶¶ 2-4. These organizations have been especially engaged in voter outreach to the Puerto Rican population in Florida following Hurricane Maria. ECF No. 2, at 8. Part of this outreach involves securing Spanish-language ballots and election materials for Spanish-speaking voters in those counties not currently providing those materials. ECF No. 2, Ex. 5, at ¶ 10, Ex. 6, at ¶ 5-6, Ex. 7, at ¶ 5, Ex. 8, at ¶ 6, Ex. 9, at ¶ 6.
Some of the Organizational Plaintiffs have actively sought to secure Spanish-language election materials in Florida counties with large Puerto Rican populations that did not already provide such materials. ECF No. 3, at ¶¶ 4-10. These Plaintiffs sent letters to 13 allegedly non-complying counties in April and followed up in June.
The Plaintiffs brought suit in this Court on August 16, 2018. Plaintiffs are suing to enforce Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act in 32 counties ("the Counties") that contain Puerto Rican populations but currently conduct English-only elections. They move for preliminary injunction and seek to enjoin Defendants to provide bilingual ballots, sample ballots, absentee and early voting applications and ballots, provisional ballots, voter registration forms, voting instructions, voter information, polling place notifications, and polling place signage, to all be created by a certified translator, and to ensure that all election information is digitally available in Spanish. ECF No. 2, at 31.
II
This Court first addresses Defendant Detzner's motion to dismiss. The Secretary of State predictably attempts to evade federal jurisdiction by challenging Plaintiffs' standing, asserting sovereign immunity, and claiming Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim. ECF No. 42, at 3-15. These arguments are not persuasive.
A
First, the Secretary of State claims he has no relevant power over the county supervisors of elections. Specifically, Defendant Detzner argues that Plaintiffs have failed to establish the causation element of standing, one of three necessary *1276requirements for a party to sue another, along with injury and redressability. Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife ,
Causation can be established through a party's action or inaction . See, e.g. , Massachusetts v. E.P.A. ,
As this Court notes with tiresome regularity, Defendant Detzner is Florida's "chief election officer."
Under rules the Department of State has promulgated, "[b]allots shall be translated into other languages that are required by law or court order." Fla. Admin. Code. R. 1S-2.032 (2018) (emphasis added). This rule is the Secretary of State's own affirmative acknowledgment of his responsibilities, passed pursuant to state law.
Defendant Detzner has the responsibility to enforce the Department of State's rules on each county supervisor of elections.
Accordingly, the Secretary's failure to require or ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act and the Department of State's own rule is, at a minimum, "fairly traceable" to Plaintiffs' alleged injuries.
*1277Lujan ,
B
Defendant Detzner's sovereign immunity argument is also unpersuasive for similar reasons. Congress abrogated state sovereign immunity in passing Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act. The provision "prohibit[s] the States from conditioning the right to vote of [Puerto Ricans] on ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter in the English language."
Assuming arguendo that Congress did not abrogate sovereign immunity in passing Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act, the Ex parte Young doctrine applies. "[T]he principle of sovereign immunity is a constitutional limitation on the federal judicial power established in Art. III." Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v. Halderman ,
As explained above, Defendant Detzner has ample authority to enforce election laws across the state. The Department of State has a rule acknowledging the necessity of bilingual ballots when required by law. Fla. Admin. Code. R. 1S-2.032. Even so, Defendant Detzner argues that he "has no power under state law to compel 32 separately elected constitutional officers to comply with federal law. " ECF No. 42, at 9 (emphasis in original). Not quite. State law and the Secretary's regulations outlining his responsibilities make clear that he does have power-and responsibility-to comply with federal law. The Department of State, after all, "shall have general supervision and administration of the election laws."
It is true that Ex parte Young may not apply "where the officer who is charged has no authority to enforce the challenged statute." Summit Med. Assocs. v. Pryor ,
*1278His authority thwarts his sovereign immunity claim.
C
Finally, Plaintiffs have stated a claim for relief against the Secretary of State. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Detzner "authorizes and permits the Counties to provide English-only" materials by "not requir[ing] the Counties to provide bilingual ballots or Spanish-language election materials, instructions, or assistance." ECF No. 1, at 25. Accepting these facts as true-which this Court must do at the motion to dismiss stage, see Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly ,
Moreover, as explained above, Defendant is the state's chief election officer and his own regulations call for bilingual ballots when required by law. That Plaintiffs do not live in all 32 counties at issue does not doom their claim because Defendant is a state officer whose responsibilities to provide bilingual ballots when required by law extend across the state.
III
Plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction, "an extraordinary and drastic remedy." Suntrust Bank v. Houghton Mifflin Co. ,
A
Plaintiffs have established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits. The Voting Rights Act is clear. Singling out those "persons educated in American-flag schools in which the predominant language was other than English," the Act "prohibit[s] the States from conditioning the right to vote of such persons on ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter in the English language."
Voting in a language you do not understand is like asking this Court to decide the winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry-ineffective, in other words. Courts have long held that the right to vote includes not only the right to physically enter a polling place and fill out a ballot but also the right to comprehend and understand what is on that ballot. See, e.g. , Torres v. Sachs ,
Courts "broadly interpret[ ]" Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act to proscribe the conditioning of voting rights on a voter's English-language abilities. United States v. Berks Cty., Pa. ,
There is no shortage of courts applying this law. A group of Puerto Rican voters in New York City sued under Section 4(e), alleging New York City's English-only elections violated the Act. The district court observed that "[i]t is simply fundamental that voting instructions and ballots ... must be in Spanish as well as English, if the vote of Spanish-speaking citizens is not to be seriously impaired." Torres ,
Nothing in Section 4(e)'s plain language indicates any numerical threshold to trigger its protections. No court has even hinted that Section 4(e) contains a numerical requirement. Defendants in Berks County claimed that Section 4(e) could "lead to the eventual result that bilingual ballots and voting materials be provided in every voting precinct in the country with even a single limited-English proficient voter of Puerto Rican descent, educated in Spanish in an American-flag school in Puerto Rico." Berks Cty. ,
Here, Plaintiffs only request a preliminary injunction for the Counties that contain Puerto Rican populations who were either born in Puerto Rico or speak English less than "very well." This request is fewer than the 52 Florida counties that conduct English-only elections. Plaintiffs tailored their lawsuit to exclude the remaining 20 counties, which presumably have a de minimis Puerto Rican population, if any.
Meanwhile, Plaintiffs offer more-than-competent evidence that thousands of citizens in the Counties speak English less than "very well." ECF No. 2, Ex. 2 ("Smith Report").
Defendant Detzner argues these numbers fail to clearly establish a likelihood of success on the merits because Dr. Smith's analysis involved estimates, degrees of uncertainty, and qualifying language such as "more likely than not." ECF No. 42, at 17. This argument is faulty for the simple reason that large datasets of populations almost always include estimates or degrees of uncertainty. Taking Defendant's argument to its logical endpoint would mean that the American Community Survey-or any data that includes estimates or degrees of uncertainty, even if they run through the analysis of a respected political scientist-can never be used as evidence in a court's consideration of a preliminary injunction.
This Court recognizes some caveats about the numbers Plaintiffs' expert proffers. First, there is likely significant overlap between two groups of Puerto Rican individuals Dr. Smith identifies; many of the registered voters identified as born in Puerto Rico may also speak English less than "very well." Second, this Court recognizes these numbers represent conservative estimates. See, e.g. , Smith Rep., at 12 (noting that some registration forms analyzed are more than six months old and do not include any Puerto Ricans who relocated after Hurricane Maria). It is no secret that thousands of Puerto Ricans have moved to Florida in recent years, particularly in the devastating wake of Hurricane Maria and the controversial government response to the disaster.
As noted above, Section 4(e) does not contain a numerical threshold to trigger its protections. There may be understandable consternation about expending resources to accommodate what may be a handful of registered voters. For example, Dr. Smith identifies 24 adults of Puerto Rican heritage who speak English less than "very well" in Wakulla County, Florida; just four voters in Taylor County were born in Puerto Rico. Id. at 15 & 9. Even so, this Court cannot read any numerical requirements into Section 4(e)'s plain language. Moreover, Plaintiffs have tailored their claims to only 32 counties. In addition to 13 counties covered by another provision of the Voting Rights Act, see supra at 3, and two counties not covered by this provision that nevertheless provide Spanish ballots, there remain 20 counties that are not impacted by Plaintiffs' claims. Presumably, these counties have a negligible non-English-speaking Puerto Rican population and therefore do not require Spanish election materials, even under the plain language of Section 4(e).
In 2013, African Americans were relieved to learn that "things have changed" in the South in terms of voting rights. Shelby Cty., Ala. v. Holder ,
B
Plaintiffs must also demonstrate they will suffer irreparable injury without a preliminary injunction. Siegel v. LePore ,
"An injury is 'irreparable' only if it cannot be undone through monetary remedies." Cunningham v. Adams ,
Here, a preliminary injunction would prevent harm in the form of an English-only election for thousands of citizens who speak English less than "very well"-if at all. These individuals would face the false decision to vote in a manner they do not meaningfully comprehend or not vote at all. That decision is antithetical to what our democratic government stands for. In short, Plaintiffs have established that they would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of a preliminary injunction.
C
In considering the balance of the equities, this Court "must balance the competing claims of injury and must consider the effect on each party of the granting or withholding of the requested relief." Amoco Prod. Co. v. Gambell ,
If this Court denies all relief to Plaintiffs, they will lose their right to a meaningful vote. ECF No. 25, at ¶¶ 5 & 8. This Court would, in effect, be authorizing disenfranchisement.
A state "indisputably has a compelling interest in preserving the integrity of its election process." Eu v. San Francisco Cty. Democratic Cent. Comm. ,
This Court has reviewed the many pages of affidavits and testimony from Florida's *1283election officials and agrees that granting all of Plaintiffs' requested relief would place significant hardships on election administrators. See generally ECF Nos. 40 & 42, Exs. 1 & 2. For example, Director of Elections Maria Matthews explains that preparing ballots is "a critical, complex, and detail-oriented process" wherein each precinct may need a different ballot style and contents. ECF No. 42, Ex. 1, at ¶ 14. Requiring official bilingual or separate Spanish ballots would, in the testimony of one Alachua County official, be "technologically and practically impossible" in time for the November 2018 elections. ECF No. 41, Ex. 2, at ¶ 5. A bilingual ballot would "radically alter[ ] the ballot layout" and would "require[ ] a larger ballot for an election than the equivalent English only ballot"-a change county officials simply do not have the time and resources to implement. Id. at ¶ 7. Similarly, a separate Spanish ballot would require significant software changes, which would then necessitate testing and verification-time and resources the county does not have. Id. at ¶ 8. Some counties already have ordered supplies, others have already begun training poll workers, and many county supervisors explain their budgets have already been set for the current election cycle.
Courts have recognized that preliminary injunctions before elections will "place administrative and financial burdens" on non-complying jurisdictions. Johnson v. Halifax Cty. ,
This Court must balance the plain language of the Voting Rights Act's Section 4(e) guaranteeing Puerto Ricans a right to a meaningful vote against the considerable logistical, financial, and technological hurdles that hard-working and dedicated election officials face at this juncture in the election cycle. While other district courts in past decades have afforded relief on tighter timelines under different circumstances, see Berks Cty. ,
D
The public interest is always served by more equitable, easier access to the ballot. Additionally, state and local officials serve the public interest when they conform their conduct to federal law's requirements. This is especially so when the law is so clear in its requirements. "Ordering Defendants to conduct elections in compliance with the Voting Rights Act so that all citizens may participate equally in the electoral process serves the public interest by reinforcing the core principles of our democracy." Berks Cty. ,
IV
It is remarkable that it takes a coalition of voting rights organizations and individuals to sue in federal court to seek minimal *1284compliance with the plain language of a venerable 53-year-old law. Due to the timeline of this lawsuit and the looming deadlines Florida election officials face, this Court does not order all of Plaintiffs' requested relief. Rather, it orders attainable compliance with Section 4(e). In doing so, this Court recognizes that some counties already provide some of the services this Court orders.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED:
1. Consistent with the Secretary of State's responsibility to "provide written direction ... to the supervisors of elections on the performance of their official duties with respect to ... rules adopted by the Department of State,"Fla. Stat. § 97.012 (16), and the Department of State's rule that "[b]allots shall be translated into other languages that are required by law or court order," Fla. Admin. Code. R. 1S-2.032, the Secretary shall provide written direction to the supervisors of elections in the 32 counties identified supra at 4 n.7 as follows:
a. The Supervisor of Election shall make available a facsimile sample ballot in Spanish to voters who fall within the ambit of Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act. The sample ballots shall have matching size, information, layout, placement, and fonts as an official ballot does. The sample ballots need not be completely identical; for example, the sample ballot need not contain bar codes or other markings that official ballots may have or be printed on the same stock, etc.
b. As to render the above a meaningful remedy, the Supervisor of Election shall publish the same facsimile sample ballot on their website with Spanish-language directions. To the extent English-language sample ballots are mailed, published, or advertised, such sample ballots must also include the sample Spanish-language ballot. The Supervisor of Election shall also provide signage in Spanish at polling places making voters aware of such sample ballots.
c. This Order does not preclude additional measures to provide assistance, as is currently being implemented under Supervisor Barton, such as hiring additional bilingual poll workers, creating or staffing a bilingual voter assistance hotline, offering bilingual assistance to disabled Spanish voters, or publishing bilingual voter guides.
2. The Secretary of State shall copy this Order in his written direction to the supervisors of elections.
3. The Secretary of State shall provide this Court notice of compliance with this Order on or before Wednesday, September 12, 2018.
4. The Secretary of State's motion to dismiss, ECF No. 42, is DENIED.
5. Plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction, ECF No. 2, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part . It is GRANTED insofar as the Counties shall provide signage, sample facsimile ballots, and notice in Spanish on their websites. It is DENIED insofar as the Counties shall not be required to provide official Spanish-language ballots and such other relief requested by Plaintiffs which this Court deems infeasible at this late juncture.
SO ORDERED on September 10, 2018.
Phil Connors, portrayed by Bill Murray, experienced a similar phenomenon. Groundhog Day (Columbia Pictures Corp. 1993).
This Court will address Defendant Barton's motion to dismiss, as well as the pending motions for class certification, in a separate order after the motions have been fully briefed.
As for Defendant Barton's part, she is already in the process of implementing most or all what this Court orders.
Section 4(e) in its entirety states:
(1) Congress hereby declares that to secure the rights under the fourteenth amendment of persons educated in American-flag schools in which the predominant classroom language was other than English, it is necessary to prohibit the States from conditioning the right to vote of such persons on ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter in the English language.
(2) No person who demonstrates that he has successfully completed the sixth primary grade in a public school in, or a private school accredited by, any State or territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in which the predominant classroom language was other than English, shall be denied the right to vote in any Federal, State, or local election because of his inability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter in the English language, except that in States in which State law provides that a different level of education is presumptive of literacy, he shall demonstrate that he has successfully completed an equivalent level of education in a public school in, or a private school accredited by, any State or territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in which the predominant classroom language was other than English.52 U.S.C. § 10303 (e).
Those counties are Broward, DeSoto, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, and Seminole.
These counties are Alachua, Bay, Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Hernando, Highlands, Indian River, Jackson, Lake, Leon, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Monroe, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Pasco, Putnam, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Sumter, Taylor, and Wakulla. Plaintiffs were not able to identify Puerto Rican populations in the remaining 20 Florida counties that conduct English-only elections.
Those counties were Alachua, Brevard, Clay, Duval, Hernando, Highlands, Lake, Leon, Manatee, Marion, Pasco, Sarasota, and St. Lucie. ECF No. 3, at ¶ 5.
Hollywood Mobile is distinguishable because the plaintiffs "failed to allege an action of the Secretary that has caused ... any injury." Id. at 1265-66. There, "the Secretary played no role" in the alleged injury. Id. at 1266. Here, Plaintiffs allege Defendant Detzner's actions or lack of actions directly were, at minimum, fairly traceable to their alleged injuries.
The statute refers to all election laws. The modifying phrase "laws as are placed under it by the Legislature" only qualifies "such other laws."
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 offered these protections to anyone who completed sixth grade in any non-English language school. Following the 1970 amendment the Act, however, Section 4(e) now "prohibit[s] the states from conditioning the right to vote of persons who attended any number of years of school in Puerto Rico on their ability to read or understand the English language." Puerto Rican Org. for Political Action v. Kusper ,
This Court finds Dr. Smith's report to be credible, his methodology sound, and his sources, such as the American Community Survey, to be reliable. Defendant Detzner attempts to paint Dr. Smith as having "no obvious expertise in ... statistics, demographics, or linguistics." ECF No. 42, at 17. A quick glance at Professor Smith's 18-page curriculum vitae will suggest fewer more qualified individuals to provide expertise on the subject of this litigation.
See, e.g. , Mary Shankin & Ahelaide Chen, Puerto Rican Population Growth Reshapes Central Florida , Orlando Sentinel (Dec. 7, 2017), http://www.orlandosentinel.com/classified/realestate/os-bz-florida-county-puerto-rican-population-growth-20171207-story.html; Elise Vieback, & Joel Achenbach, Puerto Ricans Are A Surging, Outraged Political Force in Florida in the Aftermath of Maria , Wash. Post (Oct. 6, 2017), https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/in-florida-puerto-ricans-are-a-surging-political-force--and-outraged-by-trumps-response-to-maria/2017/10/06/e7389e7a-aa29-11e7-b3aa-c0e2e1d41e38_story.html; Michael Tackett, An Exodus From Puerto Rico Could Remake Florida Politics , N.Y. Times (Oct. 6, 2017), https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/us/politics/puerto-rico-florida-voters.html; Kenya Downs, Puerto Rican Voter Surge in Florida is No Surprise , PBS.org (Nov. 8, 2016), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/is-puerto-ricans-movement-to-mainland-swaying-elections.
This Court notes that Plaintiffs have not sat on their rights. They filed this lawsuit only after reaching out to the Counties to comply with Section 4(e); many Counties politely rebuffed Plaintiffs or demurred. See, e.g. , ECF No. 3, Exs. N-X & LL-PP. In short, Plaintiffs have acted with "reasonable diligence." Benisek v. Lamone , --- U.S. ----,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Marta Valentina Rivera MADERA, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Faith in Florida, Hispanic Federation, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, UnidosUS, and Vamos4PR v. Kenneth W. DETZNER, in his official capacity as the Florida Secretary of State, and Kim A. Barton, in her official capacity as Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, on behalf of herself and similarly situated County Supervisors of Elections
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published