Case Summary

On May 6, 2020, North Dakota Voters First and North Dakota voters filed suit against Al Jaeger, in his official capacity as Nevada's Secretary of State, asking the court to waive several of North Dakota's requirements and restrictions regarding the circulation of ballot initiative petitions in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Plaintiffs had been proponents of a ballot initiative to amend the North Dakota constitution in order to change several aspects of their election and redistricting processes, including a requirement that voting machines produce a paper record of votes cast, a new process for open primary elections using instant runoff voting, and the creation of an independent legislative redistricting commission. Plaintiffs' alleged that the state's requirement that circulators certify they physically witnessed each signatory signing the petition and prohibition on collecting signatures electronically during the pandemic were undue burdens on their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of political participation and association.

On June 15, 2020, the district court denied the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction waiving the initiative requirements. On June 22, 2020, both parties submitted a joint stipulation to dismiss the case, which the district court adopted on June 24, 2020.

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U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Dakota - 3:20-cv-00076

Sinner v. Jaeger
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