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Bernbeck v. Gale (2014)
Bernbeck v. Gale (2014) was a Nebraska lawsuit which challenged the state's county-based signature distribution requirements for ballot initiatives, which was based on Sections 2 and 3 of Article III of the Nebraska Constitution. The case was initially decided by Judge Joseph Bataillon of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska on November 10, 2014. Judge Bataillon ruled that the distribution requirement violated the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the United State Constitution since it gave more power to rural votes than to urban ones. The case was appealed, however, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit overturned the lower court's decision and ruled that the plaintiff in the case had no standing to challenge the state's distribution rule. The court, however, did not rule on the merit of the actual case brought against the law.[1]
Nebraska's signature distribution requirements for initiatives mandated that initiative proponents must collect signatures from five percent of the registered voters in the state in at least two-fifths of or 38 Nebraska counties. Nebraska has 93 counties. The distribution requirements provision was placed in the constitution in 1912.[1]
Kent Bernbeck was the plaintiff in the case. The defendant and appellant was Nebraska Secretary of State John A. Gale.[1]
Rulings
District court ruling
Judge Joseph Bataillon ruled against the distribution requirements, saying, "The Nebraska Constitution does not yield equality among citizens, but instead it gives more weight to the power of rural voters." He concluded that this violated the principle of one-person, one-vote because rural counties typically have smaller populations. For example, 17 voters in Arthur County held as much power as 16,082 voters in Douglas County.[1] Bataillon based his decision on the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[2]
Excerpt from the decision
In his decision, Judge Bataillon concluded:[3]
| “ |
The court finds that the facts presented in this case show clearly that urban votes are diluted under the Nebraska Constitution. Plaintiff’s evidence as discussed herein is compelling in that regard. This is a violation of both the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the United States Constitution. The Nebraska Constitution does not yield equality among citizens, but instead it gives more weight to the power of rural votes. This cannot withstand scrutiny under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the United States Constitution.[4] |
” |
| —Judge Joseph Bataillon[3] | ||
The full text of the decision is available here.
Responses
Kent Bernbeck, the plaintiff in the case, responded to the ruling, stating, "This is part of a bigger campaign I’ve been on for quite some time. I’m just trying to remove many of the threshold requirements that make (circulating petitions) more difficult." Bernbeck said he is not against all distribution requirements, just one based on counties. He said he would be in favor of one based on the state's three congressional districts because the population is relatively equal within congressional districts, unlike counties.[1]
Appeal court ruling
On July 14, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled in a 2-1 vote that Bernbeck had no standing to challenge Nebraska's distribution requirement. The court, however, did not rule on the merits of the case.[5]
Excerpt from the decision
In the appeals court decision, the court ruled:[6]
| “ |
Because we conclude Bernbeck does not possess standing to bring his Fourteenth Amendment claim, we are without authority to do anything but vacate that portion of the district court's judgment and remand with instructions to dismiss that claim without prejudice.[4] |
” |
The dissenting judge believed that Bernbeck did, in fact, have standing both as a petitioner and as a single voter.[6]
The full text of the decision is available here.
See also
- Bernbeck v. Gale (2011)
- Bernbeck v. Moore
- Laws governing the initiative process in Nebraska
- Distribution requirements
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Omaha World‑Herald, "New ruling means potentially easier qualifying measures for Nebraska petitions," November 10, 2014
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "U.S. District Court Strikes Down Nebraska’s County Distribution Requirement for Statewide Initiatives," November 11, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Justia.com, "Bernbeck v. Gale," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Nebraska Wins on Ballot Initiative Requirement," July 21, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bloomberg Law, "Kent Bernbeck, Plaintiff - Appellee v. John A. Gale, Nebraska Secretary of State, Defendant - Appellant," July 14, 2016
