Richard Brakebill v. Alvin Jaeger

932 F.3d 671
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJuly 31, 2019
Docket18-1725
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 932 F.3d 671 (Richard Brakebill v. Alvin Jaeger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Richard Brakebill v. Alvin Jaeger, 932 F.3d 671 (8th Cir. 2019).

Opinions

COLLOTON, Circuit Judge.

This appeal arises from a challenge by six Native American plaintiffs to portions of North Dakota's elections statutes. North Dakota requires a voter to present a specific form of identification at the polls before receiving a ballot. That identification must provide, among other things, the voter's current residential street address. If a voter's identification is missing the required information, or if the information provided is not current, a voter may supplement with certain documents. Six plaintiffs sued the North Dakota Secretary of State, alleging that the provisions place an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote of many Native Americans. The district court agreed and enjoined the Secretary from enforcing certain statutory requirements statewide. The Secretary appealed. We conclude that the alleged burdens do not justify a statewide injunction, and we therefore vacate the district court's order.

I.

A.

North Dakota has no voter registration requirement, so a resident may appear at the polls on election day and cast a ballot without any previous expression of desire to vote. Election officials at the polls are charged with determining whether a person who appears is qualified to vote. Before 2013, voters could establish their qualifications by using certain forms of identification. If a voter could not present proper identification, the voter was nonetheless permitted to cast a ballot after swearing an affidavit or upon vouching by a poll worker. In 2013, the North Dakota legislature enacted HB 1332. That law limited the types of acceptable identification and eliminated the affidavit and vouching options. The legislature further limited the list of acceptable forms of identification in 2015.

The six appellees in this case originally filed suit in January 2016. Each plaintiff-appellee is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and a resident of North Dakota. The plaintiffs alleged that the voter identification requirements violated the Constitution of the United States and the North Dakota Constitution, as well as Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. On August 1, 2016, the district court granted the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. Citing statistical evidence, the court determined that the identification requirements imposed " 'excessively burdensome requirements' on Native American voters in North Dakota" that outweighed the State's asserted interests. The court concluded that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their federal constitutional claim and did not consider state law or the Voting Rights Act. The court enjoined the Secretary from enforcing the identification requirements statewide and required the Secretary to offer an affidavit alternative when a voter lacked proper identification. The Secretary did not appeal.

The North Dakota legislature then modified the State's voting requirements once more. Effective August 1, 2017, the current provision requires qualified voters to provide "a valid form of identification" before receiving a ballot. N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 16.1-01-04 .1(1). The statute defines a "valid form of identification" as a driver's license or nondriver's identification card issued by the North Dakota department of transportation, id. § 16.1-01-04.1(3)(a)(1), or "[a]n official form of identification issued by a tribal government to a tribal member residing in this state." Id. § 16.1-01-04.1(3)(a)(2).

For a voter to receive a ballot, the valid form of identification must provide the voter's (1) legal name, (2) current residential street address in North Dakota, and (3) date of birth. Id. § 16.1-01-04.1(2). If a voter's identification lacks any of those three items, the voter may still cast a ballot if she can provide the missing information using one of several supplemental documents: a current utility bill, a current bank statement, a check issued by a federal, state, or local government, a paycheck, or a document issued by a federal, state, or local government. Id. § 16.1-01-04.1(3)(b).

A prospective voter who cannot provide a valid form of identification at the polls may mark a ballot that is set aside. Id. § 16.1-01-04.1(5). The voter then may present a valid form of identification to an official at the polling place before the polls close, or present such identification within six days to "an employee of the office of the election official responsible for the administration of the election." Id.

B.

In December 2017, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint challenging the current provisions. The Secretary moved to dissolve the August 2016 injunction in light of the intervening change in law; the plaintiffs moved for a second preliminary injunction. The district court granted both motions, dissolving the August 2016 injunction as "moot" and enjoining the Secretary from enforcing parts of the current North Dakota provisions.

The district court enjoined the Secretary from enforcing three statutory requirements. First, the court forbade the Secretary to enforce the requirement of § 16.1-01-04.1(2)(b) that a voter produce identification or a supplemental document with a "[c]urrent residential street address." The court ordered the Secretary also to accept "another form of identification that includes either a 'current residential street address' or a current mailing address (P.O. Box or other address) in North Dakota."

Second, the district court ordered the Secretary to accept as a valid form of identification under § 16.1-01-04.1(3)(a)(2) "an official form of identification issued by a tribal government; the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document, letter, writing, enrollment card, or other form of tribal identification issued by a tribal authority," so long as it sets forth the voter's name, date of birth, and current residential street address or mailing address. The court noted that the Secretary already had interpreted the provision to allow these other forms of identification.

Third, the district court ordered the Secretary to accept as valid supplemental documents under § 16.1-01-04.1(3)(b)(5) "any documents issued by a tribal government, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), other tribal agencies or authorities, or

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

H&R Block, Inc. v. Block, Inc.
58 F.4th 939 (Eighth Circuit, 2023)
Dylan Brandt v. Leslie Rutledge
47 F.4th 661 (Eighth Circuit, 2022)
Sleep Number Corporation v. Steven Young
33 F.4th 1012 (Eighth Circuit, 2022)
Wildhawk Investments, LLC v. Brava I.P., LLC
27 F.4th 587 (Eighth Circuit, 2022)
Spirit Lake Tribe v. Alvin Jaeger
5 F.4th 849 (Eighth Circuit, 2021)
Pietsch v. Ward County
D. North Dakota, 2020
Spirit Lake Tribe v. Jaeger
D. North Dakota, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
932 F.3d 671, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/richard-brakebill-v-alvin-jaeger-ca8-2019.