Citizens in Charge v. Gale
United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
810 F. Supp. 2d 916 (2011)

- Written by Joe Cox, JD
Facts
Nebraska allowed ballot initiatives but mandated that each ballot-initiative petition circulated by a paid circulator had to state, in red ink and 16-point type, that the petition was circulated by a paid circulator. Citizens in Charge (plaintiff), a nonprofit group dedicated to supporting and expanding ballot initiatives and referendums across many states, filed suit against Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale (defendant), terming the required disclosure to be offensive, coerced speech. Ultimately, Citizens in Charge alleged that the required disclosure violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and that the disclosures had no rational relationship to a legitimate state interest. The state argued that the reasons for the disclosure were two-fold—first, to help signers determine whether they wished to sign and second, to deter circulation fraud. Citizens in Charge argued that neither of these theories met the rational-basis test. Of the 42 petition drives since the disclosure had become law, 34 of the drives were successful in their end result of placing particular issues, candidates, or parties on the relevant ballot.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Batallion, C.J.)
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