National Organization for Marriage, Inc. v. McKee , 669 F.3d 34 ( 2012 )


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  •           United States Court of Appeals
    For the First Circuit
    No. 11-1196
    NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE, INC.,
    and AMERICAN PRINCIPLES IN ACTION, INC.,
    Plaintiffs, Appellants,
    v.
    WALTER F. McKEE, et al.,
    Defendants, Appellees.
    APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
    FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE
    [Hon. D. Brock Hornby, U.S. District Judge]
    Before
    Boudin, Selya, and Lipez, Circuit Judges.
    James Bopp, Jr., with whom Stephen C. Whiting, The Whiting Law
    Firm, Randy Elf, Jeffrey A. Gallant, Josiah S. Neeley, and James
    Madison Center for Free Speech were on brief, for appellants.
    Thomas A. Knowlton, Assistant Attorney General, with whom
    Phyllis Gardiner, Assistant Attorney General, was on brief, for
    appellees.
    Mary L. Bonauto, Catherine R. Connors, and Pierce Atwood LLP
    on brief for Amicus Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.
    January 31, 2012
    LIPEZ, Circuit Judge.        This appeal presents the second
    chapter of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Maine
    laws imposing registration and disclosure requirements on entities
    that finance election-related advocacy.           In a recent decision, we
    rejected claims made by one of the appellants here, the National
    Organization for Marriage ("NOM"), asserting that Maine's laws
    regulating      political       action        committees         ("PACs")      are
    unconstitutionally vague and overbroad in violation of the First
    and Fourteenth Amendments. See NOM v. McKee, 
    649 F.3d 34
    (1st Cir.
    2011) ("NOM I"). We now consider similar contentions raised by NOM
    and co-appellant American Principles in Action, Inc. ("APIA")
    concerning    the   law   applicable     to   ballot     question    committees
    ("BQCs").     See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 1056-B.                     Our
    decision in NOM I effectively disposes of most of appellants'
    challenges to Maine's BQC requirements.          On the only substantively
    distinct    issue   —   the   constitutionality     of     the    definition   of
    "contribution" in section 1056-B — we conclude that the BQC law,
    like the PAC laws, is constitutional.              We thus affirm in its
    entirety the district court's grant of summary judgment for the
    defendants.
    I.
    A. The BQC Law: Section 1056-B
    Maine's BQC law, section 1056-B, imposes disclosure and
    reporting requirements on certain individuals and organizations
    -2-
    that "receive[] contributions or make[] expenditures," other than
    through PACs, "for the purpose of initiating or influencing a
    [ballot-measure] campaign."          See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A,
    § 1056-B.1     Individuals and groups who receive or make aggregate
    contributions or expenditures in excess of $5,000 for such a
    purpose are required to file periodic reports with the Commission
    on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices ("Commission").
    
    Id. §§ 1001(1),
    1056-B.    They must register with the Commission as
    a BQC within seven days of reaching the $5,000 threshold, and the
    information    provided   on   the    registration   form   "must   include
    specification of a treasurer for the committee, any other principal
    officers and all individuals who are the primary fund-raisers and
    decision makers for the committee."          
    Id. § 1056-B.
       The statute
    requires BQCs to report contributions from, and expenditures to, "a
    single source aggregating in excess of $100 in any election."
    
    Id. § 1056-B(2).
    Under section 1056-B(2-A), a contribution is defined to
    include:
    1
    The statute was amended in 2010 to substitute the word
    "campaign" for "ballot question," Me. Pub. Laws 2009, ch. 524,
    §§ 8-13, and the "purpose of" phrase was streamlined in 2011 by
    eliminating "promoting" and "defeating" as triggering activities in
    addition to "initiating" and "influencing," Me. Pub. Laws 2011, ch.
    389, § 38. Under Maine law, pending proceedings are not affected
    by statutory amendments. See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 1, § 302.
    The changes do not in any event affect the outcome of this case,
    and we follow the district court's lead in using the new language.
    See Nat'l Org. for Marriage v. McKee, 
    765 F. Supp. 2d 38
    , 40 n.3
    (D. Me. 2011).
    -3-
    A. Funds that the contributor specified were
    given in connection with a campaign;
    B.     Funds provided in response to a
    solicitation that would lead the contributor
    to believe that the funds would be used
    specifically for the purpose of initiating or
    influencing a campaign;
    C. Funds that can reasonably be determined to
    have been provided by the contributor for the
    purpose of initiating or influencing a
    campaign when viewed in the context of the
    contribution and the recipient's activities
    regarding a campaign; and
    D.    Funds or transfers from the general
    treasury of an organization filing a ballot
    question report.
    Persons or organizations filing reports under section 1056-B must
    keep detailed records for four years following the election to
    which the records pertain, including "a detailed account of all
    contributions made to the filer for the purpose of initiating or
    influencing    a   campaign   and   all    expenditures    made    for   those
    purposes."     
    Id. § 1056-B(4)(A).
    B. Procedural Background
    Section 1056-B was the original target of a complaint
    filed by NOM and APIA in October 2009, shortly before an election
    in which Maine voters were asked in a ballot question whether a
    recent   law   permitting     same-sex     marriage   in   Maine   should   be
    overturned.     NOM is a national nonprofit advocacy organization
    "dedicated to providing 'organized opposition to same-sex marriage
    in state legislatures,'" NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 48
    , and it played a
    -4-
    substantial role in Maine's same-sex marriage referendum campaign,
    see Nat'l Org. for Marriage v. McKee, 
    765 F. Supp. 2d 38
    , 43 (D.
    Me. 2011).2          APIA, also a nonprofit advocacy organization that
    operates       nationwide,       is    "dedicated       to    promoting      equality    of
    opportunity and ordered liberty."                   Second Am. Compl. ("Compl."),
    ¶ 7.       Their complaint asserted that section 1056-B should be found
    unconstitutional on multiple grounds: (1) it imposes substantial
    burdens       on    political    speech       and   association       without     adequate
    justification, (2) it improperly requires entities to register as
    BQCs without regard to whether their major purpose is the passage
    or defeat of a ballot measure, (3) its definition of "contribution"
    is   unconstitutionally           vague      and    overbroad,       and    (4)   the   $100
    reporting          threshold    is    not    narrowly    tailored      to    satisfy    any
    compelling government interest.
    After the district court denied the plaintiffs' motion
    for a temporary restraining order, see Nat'l Org. for Marriage v.
    McKee, 
    666 F. Supp. 2d 193
    (D. Me. 2009), NOM amended the complaint
    to add claims targeting the constitutionality of Maine's PAC
    registration,          independent          expenditure,       and    attribution        and
    disclaimer laws, NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 44
    .                      Those additional claims,
    pursued only by NOM, were resolved by the district court in August
    2010, and we reviewed its PAC rulings in our decision in NOM I.
    2
    For clarity, we use NOM's full name in citations to the
    district court decisions in this case, reserving the acronym "NOM"
    for citations to our own opinion.
    -5-
    Although we describe certain of our NOM I holdings in more detail
    below, it suffices to say for now that we rejected all of NOM's
    claims on appeal and upheld the constitutionality of the challenged
    PAC statutes.3
    Meanwhile, the parties filed cross-motions for summary
    judgment on the original claims challenging the BQC law. While the
    ruling on the PAC claims was pending on appeal, the district court
    issued a thoughtful decision granting the defendants' motion for
    summary judgment on the BQC claims and denying the plaintiffs'
    parallel motion.          See Nat'l Org. for 
    Marriage, 765 F. Supp. 2d at 53
    .4       It concluded that: (1) the BQC registration and reporting
    requirements        are    not   unconstitutionally    burdensome     and   are
    justified      by   the    State's   compelling   interest   in    "provid[ing]
    important information to Maine voters about the interest groups
    that are attempting to influence the outcome of a ballot question,"
    
    id. at 46;
    (2) the "major purpose test" adopted by the Supreme
    Court in the context of federal regulations is inapplicable in
    "this       quite   different    area   of    state   regulation    of   ballot
    3
    The district court had held unconstitutional a regulation
    governing the timing of disclosures. That ruling was not appealed.
    See NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 41
    n.2.
    4
    In its February 2011 opinion on the merits, the district
    court liberally incorporated the relevant analysis from its earlier
    decision on the motion for a temporary restraining order.       See
    Nat'l Org. for 
    Marriage, 765 F. Supp. 2d at 40
    . In quoting its
    merits decision, we choose not to distinguish between new text and
    portions reproduced verbatim from the earlier ruling and, hence, do
    not identify the latter with double quotation marks.
    -6-
    questions," 
    id. at 49;
    (3) the definition of "contribution" is
    neither vague nor overbroad, 
    id. at 50-52;
    and (4) the $100
    reporting threshold "is substantially related to Maine's compelling
    interest   in   informing   voters    and   narrowly    tailored   to   avoid
    unnecessary impositions on associational rights," 
    id. at 53.
    We decided NOM I in the interim between the district
    court's February ruling on the BQC provision and the parties' oral
    argument in this appeal.      As we describe in Section II, with the
    exception of appellants' challenges to the statute's definition of
    "contribution,"    our   decision     in    NOM   I   largely   disposes   of
    appellants' contentions concerning the BQC statute.                 We thus
    address those issues only briefly before considering appellants'
    arguments concerning section 1056-B's definition of "contribution."
    II.
    A. First Amendment Overbreadth Challenge
    Appellants argue that, under Supreme Court precedent,
    Maine may define an entity as a BQC — thus triggering what they
    characterize as the "onerous" requirements of BQC status — only if
    the entity is under the control of a candidate for state or local
    office or has as its "major purpose" the passage or defeat of a
    ballot measure in Maine.5      They maintain that section 1056-B is
    5
    The "major purpose" test has its origins in Buckley v.
    Valeo, 
    424 U.S. 1
    (1976), where the Supreme Court narrowly read a
    federal statute defining political committees to encompass only
    "organizations that are under the control of a candidate or the
    major purpose of which is the nomination or election of a
    -7-
    unconstitutionally overbroad because it reaches entities outside
    that "limited zone of permissible regulation."       NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 58-59
    .
    This thesis, embracing the first two claims addressed by
    the district court, is essentially the same argument we rejected in
    NOM I with respect to similar disclosure and reporting requirements
    for PACs.6     As an initial matter in NOM I, we discredited NOM's
    assertion that its constitutional challenge did not arise from the
    reporting    and   disclosure   requirements   per   se,   but   from   the
    statutory definition of a PAC that determines whether a particular
    entity is subject to the requirements.     We noted that "[i]t is not
    the designation as a PAC but rather the obligations that attend PAC
    designation that matter for purposes of First Amendment review."
    
    Id. at 56.
       Thus, we rejected "the claim that PAC status is somehow
    candidate," 
    id. at 79.
    Appellants have attempted to adapt the test
    to apply to ballot question committees.
    6
    The provisions governing "non-major-purpose" PACs are
    triggered when an entity receives contributions or makes
    expenditures of more than $5,000 annually "for the purpose of
    influencing" a candidate's nomination or election. Me. Rev. Stat.
    Ann. tit. 21-A, § 1052(5)(A)(5). Upon reaching that threshold, the
    entity must register with the Commission, maintain records of
    certain expenditures and donor contributions aggregating more than
    $50, and file quarterly and other reports.     
    Id. §§ 1053,
    1057,
    1059-60. These requirements parallel those described above for
    BQCs. Indeed, the district court noted that "plaintiffs argue that
    Maine treats ballot question committees essentially like political
    action committees." Nat'l Org. for 
    Marriage, 765 F. Supp. 2d at 45
    .
    -8-
    inherently burdensome apart from the specific requirements it
    entails."    
    Id. at 58.
    Turning to the obligations themselves, we concluded that
    the "exacting scrutiny" standard applied to our review of the
    statute, rather than the more rigorous strict scrutiny standard.
    That is so because the provision "do[es] not prohibit, limit, or
    impose any onerous burdens on speech, but merely require[s] the
    maintenance and disclosure of certain financial information."              
    Id. at 56.
      We rejected the relevance of the Buckley "major purpose"
    test — as it was merely "an artifact of the Court's construction of
    a federal statute," 
    id. at 59
    — and concluded that the PAC statute
    survived exacting scrutiny based on the government's "compelling
    interest in identifying the speakers behind politically oriented
    messages," 
    id. at 57,
    59.
    Our NOM I analysis applies with equal force to our review
    of the BQC provision.       Here, as in NOM I, we reject appellants'
    attempt to frame their constitutional claim as a challenge to the
    BQC   definition   rather    than   to     the   reporting   and    disclosure
    requirements themselves.         Like Maine's PAC laws, section 1056-B
    "imposes three simple obligations on an entity qualifying as a
    [BQC]: filing of a registration form disclosing basic information,
    quarterly    reporting      of    election-related      contributions      and
    expenditures, and simple recordkeeping."           
    Id. at 56.
         No less than
    in candidate elections, citizens evaluating ballot questions must
    -9-
    "rely ever more on a message's source as a proxy for reliability
    and a barometer of political spin."               
    Id. at 57;
    see also, e.g.,
    Cal. Pro-Life Council, Inc. v. Getman, 
    328 F.3d 1088
    , 1105-06 (9th
    Cir.    2003)   ("'Even    more   than    candidate   elections,      initiative
    campaigns have become a money game, where average citizens are
    subjected to advertising blitzes of distortion and half-truths and
    are left to figure out for themselves which interest groups pose
    the greatest threats to their self-interest.'" (quoting David S.
    Broder, Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of
    Money 18 (2000))).        The disclosure of information about the source
    of political-advocacy funds thus "'enables the electorate to make
    informed decisions.'" NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 57
    (quoting Citizens
    United v. FEC, 
    130 S. Ct. 876
    , 916 (2010)).
    We agree with the district court that such transparency
    is a compelling objective "in a climate where the number of ballot
    questions Maine voters face is steadily increasing."                  Nat'l Org.
    for 
    Marriage, 765 F. Supp. 2d at 46
    ; see also 
    id. at 52
    (noting
    that "'[k]nowing which interested parties back or oppose a ballot
    measure is critical, especially when one considers that ballot-
    measure language is typically confusing, and the long-term policy
    ramifications of the ballot measure are often unknown'" (quoting
    
    Getman, 328 F.3d at 1106
    )).        Hence, like the non-major-purpose PAC
    provision we upheld in NOM I, section 1056-B is consistent with the
    First    Amendment   because      its    modest    disclosure   and    reporting
    -10-
    requirements are substantially related to "Maine's interest in
    disseminating        information      about     political    funding         to     the
    electorate."       NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 57
    .
    In so concluding, we reject appellants' argument that our
    decision in NOM I does not govern this case because the BQC
    regulation is supported by only a single state interest — informing
    the   electorate      —   while    additional    interests   may      justify      the
    regulation of PACs.            Our decision in NOM I rested solely on the
    State's interest in "disseminating information about political
    funding to the electorate," 
    id. at 57-58
    & n.34 — an interest
    equally applicable to the BQC setting.
    B. The $100 Reporting Threshold
    Given    the   importance     of   transparency     in    the    public
    dialogue about ballot measures, and our decision in NOM I upholding
    the $100 threshold in Maine's independent expenditure reporting
    provision, see 
    id. at 59
    -61, we can easily reject appellants'
    challenge     to     section       1056-B's     reporting    requirement            for
    contributions from a single source that, in the aggregate, exceed
    $100.
    The applicable inquiry is whether the legislature's
    judgment to set a $100 reporting threshold is "wholly without
    rationality."       
    Id. at 60.
         Our analysis in NOM I confirms that it
    is    not,   see   
    id. at 59
    -61,   and    the   district   court's          clear
    -11-
    articulation reveals why the $100 threshold is narrowly tailored to
    meet Maine's compelling interest in informing voters:
    The public has an interest in knowing . . .
    that a ballot measure has been supported by a
    multitude of gifts, even small gifts, from a
    particular   state    or   from   a   specific
    profession. Such information could be crucial
    in the context of ballot measures involving
    public works projects or regulatory reform.
    The issue is thus not whether voters clamor
    for information about each "Hank Jones" who
    gave $100 to support an initiative. Rather,
    the issue is whether the "cumulative effect of
    disclosure ensures that the electorate will
    have access to information regarding the
    driving forces backing and opposing each
    bill."
    Nat'l     Org.    for     Marriage,    765    F.   Supp.     2d   at   52   (quoting
    ProtectMarriage.com v. Bowen, 
    599 F. Supp. 2d 1197
    , 1211 (E.D. Cal.
    2009)).          Hence,     the   $100       threshold     survives     appellants'
    constitutional attack.7
    C. Due Process Vagueness
    1. The Challenged Language
    Appellants assert that two parts of Maine's definition of
    "contribution" are unconstitutionally vague and that, by extension,
    the   BQC   definition       relying     on    that   term    also     is   flawed.
    7
    Contrary to appellants' assertion, the failure to index the
    threshold to inflation does not render it faulty. See NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 61
    (rejecting NOM's challenge to the $100 PAC threshold
    based on the failure to index and noting that "[n]either we nor the
    Supreme Court has ever second-guessed a legislative decision not to
    index a reporting requirement to inflation").
    -12-
    Specifically, they challenge subsections B and C of section 1056-
    B's four-part definition of contribution:
    B.     Funds provided in response to a
    solicitation that would lead the contributor
    to believe that the funds would be used
    specifically for the purpose of initiating or
    influencing a campaign;
    C. Funds that can reasonably be determined to
    have been provided by the contributor for the
    purpose of initiating or influencing a
    campaign when viewed in the context of the
    contribution and the recipient's activities
    regarding a campaign . . . .
    Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 1056-B(2-A)(B), (C).            Appellants
    contend that the phrase "for the purpose of . . . influencing" that
    appears in both subsections is vague, and they also argue that each
    subsection is flawed by its reliance on a subjective factor (the
    contributor's belief in subsection B and the contributor's purpose
    in subsection C). They further challenge the invocation of context
    in subsection C.
    2.   Standing
    As a threshold matter, defendants assert that NOM and
    APIA may not bring a Due Process vagueness challenge because they
    undertook activities clearly covered by the statute.            They rely on
    the Supreme Court's recent decision in Holder v. Humanitarian Law
    Project, 
    130 S. Ct. 2705
    (2010), where the Court reaffirmed that
    "[a]   plaintiff   who   engages   in   some   conduct   that    is   clearly
    proscribed cannot complain of the vagueness of the law as applied
    to the conduct of others."    
    Id. at 2719
    (quoting Hoffman Estates v.
    -13-
    Flipside,    Hoffman   Estates,    Inc.,    
    455 U.S. 489
    ,    495   (1982)
    (alteration in original)).        The principle extends to the First
    Amendment context, even though "a heightened vagueness standard
    applies."    
    Id. It is
    undisputed that NOM received contributions clearly
    governed by section 1056-B and that APIA stated its intention to
    solicit such contributions.       Appellants' complaint lists thirteen
    emails distributed by NOM between May and September 2009, most of
    which referenced the Maine referendum effort and some of which
    explicitly requested donations to help in the fight against same-
    sex marriage in Maine and elsewhere.           See Compl., ¶¶ 26-38; see
    also Nat'l Org. for 
    Marriage, 666 F. Supp. 2d at 211
    (reproducing
    portions of seven of the emails).8         The complaint also states that
    APIA intended to solicit donations to defray the cost of running
    two television ads opposing gay marriage "during the current
    election cycle and in future elections."          Compl., ¶ 51; see also
    Nat'l Org. for 
    Marriage, 765 F. Supp. 2d at 44
    (describing the
    proposed    APIA   broadcast   advertisements).      Funds      generated   in
    response to explicit solicitations clearly would fall within the
    definitions of "contribution" articulated in subsections B and C of
    8
    The complaint also lists an article in a NOM newsletter
    that described the organization's participation in the Maine
    ballot-measure campaign, and stated: "Your support [for] NOM is
    critical to the success of this effort." The newsletter included
    a donation card and a return envelope for donations. Compl., ¶ 40;
    see also Docket No. 114-4, at 4.
    -14-
    section 1056-B.     Requests for donations to support the campaign
    against same-sex marriage in Maine could only reasonably lead a
    responding contributor to believe that the money would be used for
    that purpose (triggering subsection B) and also would reasonably
    lead the solicitor to conclude that they were given with that
    purpose in mind (triggering subsection C).         Indeed, appellants
    acknowledge that the contribution definition is not vague as
    applied to all of their speech.
    Given the statute's acknowledged clear application to
    "some" of appellants' activities, defendants are correct insofar as
    they insist that appellants may not bring a facial vagueness
    challenge to section 1056-B.    See Humanitarian Law Project, 130 S.
    Ct. at 2719; Parker v. Levy, 
    417 U.S. 733
    , 756 (1974) ("One to
    whose conduct a statute clearly applies may not successfully
    challenge it for vagueness.").     In this context, however, it does
    not necessarily follow that the statute's undisputed application to
    some of appellants' financial dealings means that they cannot
    succeed with an as-applied vagueness challenge focused on other
    activities.     Section   1056-B's   enforcement   mechanism      is    not
    necessarily triggered when entities engage in one or more instances
    of financial activity within the scope of the statute.                  The
    disclosure    and   reporting   obligations   do   not   attach        until
    contributions or expenditures reach the $5,000 threshold.
    -15-
    Appellants' complaint asserts the incremental importance
    of each individual contribution:
    43. Depending on which, if any, of the
    donations for the above listed emails and
    newsletters are considered "contributions" for
    purposes of section 1056-B, NOM is either near
    or has already exceeded the $5,000 threshold
    for ballot question committee status.
    44. NOM intends to distribute further
    emails and newsletters mentioning Maine and
    soliciting   donations,   which  will   exceed
    $5,000, both during the current election cycle
    and in future elections. However, NOM fears
    enforcement under section 1065-B based on any
    such future activities, as well as for
    activities already engaged in.
    Compl., ¶¶ 43, 44.        Hence, if contributions clearly within the
    statute's      scope   fall   short   of     the   $5,000   mark,    appellants
    theoretically may succeed with as-applied vagueness challenges
    based on other donations that they fear may bring their covered
    funds up to $5,000.
    Appellants, however, do not address in their brief the
    vagueness problem with respect to donations received following any
    specific communication they distributed or proposed.                Rather, they
    assert   in    conclusory     language     that    subsections   B    and   C   of
    section 1056-B "are unconstitutionally vague as applied to most of
    Plaintiffs' speech."        They make glancing reference to the content
    of the emails, noting that "some of NOM's solicitations mentioned
    Maine," and query whether, as a result of those mentions, donors'
    knowledge of the Maine ballot measure would be enough to make their
    -16-
    donations covered "contributions" and NOM a BQC.              They do not
    explain   why   they   were   unable,   or   would   be   unable,   to   link
    particular contributions received to their advocacy efforts on the
    Maine referendum, focusing their arguments instead on the language
    of the statute generally.9
    Thus, appellants are not only unable to bring a facial
    vagueness challenge to section 1056-B, but their failure to develop
    their as-applied challenges also would allow us to reject those
    claims summarily if we were so inclined.10           See Harron v. Town of
    Franklin, 
    660 F.3d 531
    , 535 n.2 (1st Cir. 2011); United States v.
    Zannino, 
    895 F.2d 1
    , 17 (1st Cir. 1990).         Given the importance of
    the issues raised, however, and the resources expended by all
    parties in this extensive litigation, we choose to explain why
    their vagueness contentions would in any event be substantially, if
    not entirely, unavailing. See Costa-Urena v. Segarra, 
    590 F.3d 18
    ,
    30 (1st Cir. 2009) (noting that "in certain circumstances we have
    9
    Appellants invoke the specific communications they
    disseminated merely by citing to the paragraphs of their complaint
    describing NOM's email messages and newsletter article, and APIA's
    proposed television ads (i.e., "See A[ppendix] 30-A[ppendix] 36").
    The citation includes a parenthetical excepting three of the emails
    and the newsletter piece from their argument — presumably the
    speech that they concede elicited contributions clearly covered by
    section 1056-B.    Two of those three emails are reproduced in
    section II.C.5.
    10
    Indeed, APIA appears to lack standing to bring an as-applied
    challenge. Its proposed activities – to air broadcast advertising
    plainly aimed at influencing the ballot question campaign and to
    raise funds for that purpose – involve expenditures and
    contributions clearly covered by section 1056-B.
    -17-
    the discretion to overlook waiver by inadequate argument" (citation
    omitted)); cf. Nat'l Ass'n of Social Workers v. Harwood, 
    69 F.3d 622
    ,   628    (1st     Cir.     1995)      (noting    that       the    presence    of   a
    constitutional        issue        is     "a   factor          that     favors     review
    notwithstanding . . . procedural default"); In re Two Appeals
    Arising Out of San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Litig., 
    994 F.2d 956
    , 961 (1st Cir. 1993) ("To the extent that an issue is one of
    law rather than fact, can be resolved without doubt on the existing
    record, and is likely to arise in other cases, an appellate court
    may, in the interests of justice, choose to overlook a procedural
    default.").
    3.    Standard of Review
    Our     task     when      evaluating    a       due   process   vagueness
    challenge to a statute affecting First Amendment freedoms is "to
    ensure that persons of ordinary intelligence have 'fair warning' of
    what [the] law prohibits," that the law "provide[s] explicit
    standards for those who apply" it, and that the law "avoid[s]
    chilling the exercise of First Amendment rights."                       NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 62
    (quoting Grayned v. City of Rockford, 
    408 U.S. 104
    , 108-09
    (1972) (internal quotation mark omitted)).                            Precision is not
    expected;     "[t]he        mere        fact   that       a     regulation       requires
    interpretation does not make it vague."                       
    Id. (quoting Ridley
    v.
    Mass. Bay Transp. Auth., 
    390 F.3d 65
    , 93 (1st Cir. 2004)); see also
    Humanitarian Law 
    Project, 130 S. Ct. at 2719
    (noting that, when a
    -18-
    law burdens First Amendment rights, "a more stringent vagueness
    test should apply . . . [b]ut perfect clarity and precise guidance
    have   never     been   required   even    of     regulations   that    restrict
    expressive activity" (quoting Hoffman 
    Estates, 455 U.S. at 499
    ;
    United States v. Williams, 
    553 U.S. 285
    , 304 (2008) (quoting Ward
    v. Rock Against Racism, 
    491 U.S. 781
    , 794 (1989)))).              The test is
    whether the statute "prohibits . . . an act in terms so uncertain
    that persons of average intelligence would have no choice but to
    guess at its meaning and modes of application."             NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 62
    (quoting United States v. Councilman, 
    418 F.3d 67
    , 84 (1st Cir.
    2005) (en banc)) (internal quotation marks omitted). Our review is
    de novo.    NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 62
    .
    4.    "Influencing"
    In NOM I, where we faced essentially the same vagueness
    challenge    to   the   use   of   the    word    "influencing"   in    the   PAC
    provisions, we relied on a narrowing construction adopted by the
    Commission for section 1056-B – i.e., the provision that is now
    before us.        As we   explained      there,    the   Commission's    written
    Guidance clarifying section 1056-B stated that the various action
    terms in the then-current version of the provision – "initiating,
    promoting, defeating or influencing in any way" – applied to
    communications and activities which expressly
    advocate for or against a ballot question or
    which clearly identify a ballot question by
    apparent and unambiguous reference and are
    susceptible of no reasonable interpretation
    -19-
    other than to promote or oppose the ballot
    question.
    NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 66
    (quoting Me. Comm'n on Governmental Ethics &
    Election Practices, Guidance on Reporting as a Ballot Question
    Committee).11      We held that the PAC provisions' use of the term
    "influencing," "so limited, is not so vague as to offend due
    process."      
    Id. at 67.
      A fortiori, given that the Guidance was
    generated to clarify section 1056-B, our conclusion there — that
    the narrowed formulation "succeeds both in 'provid[ing] explicit
    standards for those who apply' the provision[] . . . and in
    ensuring that persons of average intelligence will have reasonable
    notice of the provision[']s[] coverage" — applies here as well.
    
    Id. (quoting Grayned,
    408 U.S. at 108).
    In their reply brief, appellants assert that the Guidance
    is unconstitutionally vague because it incorporates the "appeal-to-
    vote" test, which they claim is itself unconstitutionally vague.
    We rejected this unfavorable view of the appeal-to-vote test in NOM
    I.   See 
    id. We likewise
    reject appellants' contention here that
    the Guidance is unclear because it describes the regulated conduct,
    in   part,   in   appeal-to-vote   terms   —   i.e.,   communications   and
    activities "susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than
    11
    The Guidance provides answers to a series of questions about
    the BQC law and is available on the Commission's website at
    http://www.maine.gov/ethics/bqcs/guidance.htm (last visited Jan.
    25, 2012). The Guidance has been revised in accordance with the
    current statutory language and no longer includes the words
    "promoting" or "defeating" in its explanation.
    -20-
    to promote or oppose [a] ballot question."        See FEC v. Wis. Right
    to Life, Inc., 
    551 U.S. 449
    , 469-70 (2007) (articulating the
    appeal-to-vote test in holding that an advertisement could be
    regulated   without    triggering   overbreadth   concerns   if   it   were
    "susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an
    appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate").         Indeed, as
    we noted in NOM I, the Supreme Court relied on the appeal-to-vote
    test in its most recent campaign-finance decision.       See NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 69
    (citing Citizens 
    United, 130 S. Ct. at 889-90
    ); see also
    Wis. Right to 
    Life, 551 U.S. at 474
    n.7 (explaining that the
    appeal-to-vote formulation meets the "imperative for clarity" in
    regulation of political speech).
    Moreover, as the district court recognized, the phrase
    "for the purpose of influencing" was of concern in the context of
    candidate elections because of the possibility that it would be
    understood to cover issue advocacy as well as express advocacy for
    the election or defeat of a candidate.             See Nat'l Org. for
    
    Marriage, 765 F. Supp. 2d at 53
    n.86.      "For state ballot question
    committees, however, only issue advocacy is involved, and there is
    no vagueness."   
    Id. -21- 5.
      Subsection B ("Funds provided in response to a
    solicitation that would lead the contributor to believe that the
    funds would be used specifically for the purpose of initiating or
    influencing a campaign")
    Appellants   assert     that    subsection    B   articulates       a
    standard that "focus[es] on what those who hear speech understand,"
    and argue that they cannot know "for sure" whether solicitations
    "would lead the contributor to believe" that funds would be used
    for advocacy concerning a ballot measure.           They contend that the
    provision places the speaker "'wholly at the mercy of the varied
    understanding[s] of [their] hearers,'" which has the impermissible
    chilling effect     of   self-censorship.        Appellants'    Br. at     24
    (quoting 
    Buckley, 424 U.S. at 43
    ) (second alteration in original).
    As we have explained, a facial vagueness challenge to the
    statute    is   unavailable    because      appellants   concede   that     the
    contribution definition is not "impermissibly vague in all of its
    applications." Hoffman 
    Estates, 455 U.S. at 497
    . Although we have
    chosen to respond to appellants' as-applied challenge in part, we
    decline to examine in detail each of the communications listed in
    appellants' complaint to evaluate the clarity of section 1056-B's
    application to subsequently received donations. Appellants did not
    undertake such a particularized analysis, and we are unwilling to
    excuse    the   deficiencies   in   their    briefing    by   developing    the
    argument for them.       Instead, we can explain the flaws in their
    contentions about the statute's constitutionality by reviewing a
    selection of the NOM emails identified in the complaint.
    -22-
    At least half of NOM's thirteen listed emails paired
    information     about    the   organization's     efforts    to    overturn   the
    pending Maine law allowing same-sex marriage with explicit requests
    for financial support – clearly constituting "solicitation[s] that
    would lead the contributor to believe that the funds [donated]
    would be     used   specifically      for   the   purpose   of    initiating or
    influencing a campaign."         Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 1056-
    B(2-A)(B).      Among those emails, for example, are two that NOM
    appears to concede do not raise vagueness problems.                The first of
    those, sent on May 6, 2009, stated:
    Your support today will allow us to start the
    referendum process immediately when the law is
    signed, ensuring that the measure does not
    take effect before the people of Maine have
    had their say. Can you afford a gift of $35,
    $50 or $100 today to help stop same-sex
    marriage not just in Maine, but in New
    Hampshire, Iowa, and other states as well?
    Please use this hyperlink to make a secure
    online donation today.
    Docket    No.   114-2,   at    2-3.     NOM   estimated     that   it   received
    approximately $2,469 as a result of this communication.                 Compl.,
    ¶ 26.    The second of the pair, sent on July 10, described efforts
    "to repeal Maine's hastily enacted gay marriage statute" and
    stated:
    The National Organization for Marriage worked
    hard with StandforMarriageMaine [a Maine PAC]
    to make this happen. But it could not have
    happened without your help! You are the ones
    who made this happen . . . and we need you to
    help secure this victory.    Can you help us
    with $10, $25, or $100 so that Maine – and our
    -23-
    country – can recover the true meaning of
    marriage?
    Docket No. 114-2, at 14.     NOM estimated that this email produced
    approximately $350 in donations. Compl., ¶ 32.
    Two other emails apparently not within NOM's concession
    present similar messages.    An email sent on May 8, 2009 described
    activities in the District of Columbia, Maine, and New Hampshire
    and included the following solicitation, in boldface type:
    You can fight back!     Can you help defend
    marriage in Maine and across the country, by
    donating $5, $10, or even, if God has given
    you the means, $100 or $500?
    Docket No. 114-2, at 4.     NOM estimated receiving about $1,055 in
    donations in response to the email.     Compl., ¶ 27.   Another email
    on August 28, 2009, which drew an estimated $395 in donations,
    described a recent article about NOM executive director Brian Brown
    and highlighted events in Iowa.    The email included the following
    sentence: "Help us fight to protect marriage in Iowa, Maine and
    everywhere across this great land – donate today!" Compl., ¶ 37;
    Docket No. 114-3, at 12.    A reasonable contributor could not help
    but believe that donations made in response to these and similar
    solicitations "would be used specifically for the purpose of
    initiating or influencing a [Maine] campaign." Me. Rev. Stat. Ann.
    tit. 21-A, § 1056-B(2-A)(B).12
    12
    Appellants have not challenged the statute on appeal based
    on the failure to pro rate contributions among the states mentioned
    in the solicitations. See Nat'l Org. for Marriage, 666 F. Supp. 2d
    -24-
    Drawing on the language quoted above from Buckley and
    noting its repetition in Wisconsin Right to Life, appellants
    emphasize that a regulation of political speech must focus on the
    content   of   the   message   itself    and   not   on   the   hearer's
    understanding. Even if that requirement were categorical – and NOM
    does not say it is – it would be fulfilled by subsection B.         The
    question asked is whether the words spoken – the "solicitation" –
    would lead a contributor to believe that the funds will be used to
    initiate or influence a campaign.       The answer does not require an
    assessment of what any particular contributor actually believed, an
    inquiry that could turn on the hearer's education, culture, or
    other background factors.      Rather, whether a communication is
    covered depends on the objectively reasonable meaning of the
    language of the solicitation; hence, the only relevant hearer is
    the hypothetical "reasonable person."
    We acknowledge, as appellants argue, that a standard may
    be both objective and vague.      As applied to the communications
    described above, however, there is nothing imprecise about the
    at 212 (noting that "[t]he clear language of the statute requires
    reporting the entire amount"). Appellants summarily assert that
    section 1056-B improperly regulates speech outside Maine, but link
    that assertion only to the district court's conclusion that Maine
    may require "organization-wide reporting" so the Commission "can
    assess the legitimacy of how the organization reports its
    information." Nat'l Org. for 
    Marriage, 765 F. Supp. 2d at 49
    n.76.
    To the extent appellants claim the statute has improper
    extraterritorial impact, the argument is undeveloped and, hence,
    forfeited.
    -25-
    language or the target of the provision.                    Subsection A, which is
    not challenged here, governs contributions that "the contributor
    specified   were given     in    connection       with          a    campaign"    –   i.e.,
    earmarked donations.      Subsection B governs contributions that, in
    effect, are earmarked by the solicitor – those that the contributor
    would understand as intended for use in ballot campaigns because of
    the   solicitor's     "earmarking"      words.             As       the    district   court
    observed,   rejecting     subsection       B    as     a    lawful         complement      to
    subsection A "would allow the solicitor to propose all the relevant
    limitations and conditions in the solicitation, then argue unfairly
    that the    resulting    gift    that   did      not       expressly         repeat   those
    limitations    and    conditions     could      not    be       characterized         as   to
    purpose."    Nat'l Org. for 
    Marriage, 765 F. Supp. 2d at 51
    .
    We have no difficulty concluding that organizations like
    NOM and APIA can be fairly required by Maine law to determine
    whether a reasonable listener would understand their advocacy as an
    invitation to contribute to a specific ballot question campaign.
    The scope of subsection B "may not be clear in every application,"
    Humanitarian Law 
    Project, 130 S. Ct. at 2720
    , but appellants have
    identified no circumstances in which they would be unable to
    recognize contributions that the Commission would deem within the
    statute's     scope   based     on   the       perspective            of    a   reasonable
    -26-
    contributor. Hence, we reject appellants' argument that subsection
    B is unconstitutionally vague as applied to them.13
    6.   Subsection C ("Funds that can reasonably be
    determined to have been provided by the contributor for the purpose
    of initiating or influencing a campaign when viewed in the context
    of the contribution and the recipient's activities regarding a
    campaign")
    Subsection C triggers somewhat closer examination because
    it relies by its terms not only on words spoken by the solicitor or
    donor, but also on context.   In addressing an as-applied challenge
    to campaign finance regulations, the Supreme Court cautioned lower
    courts against examining background information where such scrutiny
    could become "an excuse for discovery or a broader inquiry" that
    might chill "core political speech."   Wis. Right to 
    Life, 551 U.S. at 474
    , 468.14    The Court acknowledged, however,     that "basic
    13
    Appellants also appear to argue that the definitions of
    "contribution" in subsections B and C are overbroad because they
    extend to donations beyond those expressly earmarked by donors to
    support or oppose ballot measures.     Unsurprisingly, appellants
    offer no support for the contention that the State may regulate
    only explicitly earmarked funds. Such a limitation would allow
    entities to easily evade disclosure requirements by guiding the
    content of donors' messages, defeating the State's compelling
    interest in informing voters. See Nat'l Org. for Marriage, 765 F.
    Supp. 2d at 51. We reject any such argument out of hand.
    14
    In Wisconsin Right to Life, the Court addressed an as-
    applied challenge to Section 203 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform
    Act of 2002 ("BCRA"), which barred corporations from disseminating
    communications via broadcast media that targeted voters and named
    a candidate for federal elected 
    office. 551 U.S. at 455-56
    . The
    Court held that the statute was unconstitutional in its application
    to three radio and television ads because they constituted issue
    advocacy rather than campaign speech. In so concluding, the Court
    held that "the proper standard for an as-applied challenge to [the
    statute] must be objective, focusing on the substance of the
    -27-
    background information" may be necessary to put a communication in
    context, and it mentioned the factor of timing — "such as whether
    an ad describes a legislative issue that is either currently the
    subject of legislative scrutiny or likely to be the subject of such
    scrutiny   in    the   near   future"   —   as   one   possibly   relevant
    consideration.    
    Id. at 474
    (internal quotation mark omitted).
    Assuming the Supreme Court's caution regarding the use of
    background facts may be imported from its setting involving a
    content restriction on speech to this vagueness challenge to a
    disclosure law, that limitation does not concern us.         The language
    of subsection C — though "clumsy," Nat'l Org. for Marriage, 765 F.
    Supp. 2d at 51 — is clear enough: it targets contributions that the
    recipient would reasonably understand to be "for the purpose of
    initiating or influencing a campaign," Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-
    A, § 1056-B(2-A)(C), in circumstances where there is no explicit
    request from the solicitor (covered by subsection B) or express
    communication rather than amorphous considerations of intent and
    effect." 
    Id. at 469.
    The Court then elaborated:
    It must entail minimal if any discovery, to allow parties
    to resolve disputes quickly without chilling speech
    through the threat of burdensome litigation. And it must
    eschew "the open-ended rough-and-tumble of factors,"
    which "invit[es] complex argument in a trial court and a
    virtually inevitable appeal." In short, it must give the
    benefit of any doubt to protecting rather than stifling
    speech.
    
    Id. (quoting Jerome
    B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock
    Co., 
    513 U.S. 527
    , 547 (1995)) (alteration in original) (citations
    omitted).
    -28-
    earmarking by the donor (covered by subsection A).                     The statute
    does not require inquiry into what the parties in fact understood,
    avoiding the pitfalls of subjective standards.               Cf. Wis. Right to
    
    Life, 551 U.S. at 468
    ("[A]n intent-based test would chill core
    political speech by opening the door to a trial on every ad . . .
    on the theory that the speaker actually intended to affect an
    election, no matter how compelling the [contrary] indications[.]").
    Rather,     the   statute's    applicability       turns     on    an     objective
    assessment of what a reasonable recipient would have concluded, and
    that    assessment     necessarily   will    be    based    primarily       on   the
    recipient's own conduct and communications, i.e., its "activities
    regarding a campaign."
    Here, for example, NOM's list of emails includes one
    distributed on July 31, 2009 that, according to the complaint,
    "focused on events related to same-sex marriage in Maine, and
    mentioned     that    'StandforMarriageMaine.com           has    turned    in   an
    extraordinary     100,000     signatures    to    overturn       gay    marriage.'"
    Compl., ¶ 34.        As described in the complaint, this communication
    did not include an explicit solicitation and, hence, might be
    thought to fall outside the scope of subsection B's coverage of
    "[f]unds provided in response to a solicitation."15                Me. Rev. Stat.
    15
    In fact, however, the full email reproduced in the record
    contained multiple requests for donations.    After noting NOM's
    efforts in the Maine signature drive, the July 31 email stated:
    [I]t is your financial sacrifices which have made our
    -29-
    Ann. tit. 21-A, § 1056-B(2-A)(B).     Whether or not subsection B
    applies, subsection C plainly does.   In "context" — i.e., in light
    of NOM's ongoing role in the effort to overturn the Maine gay
    marriage law by referendum — the $255 in donations that NOM
    attributed to the email could only "reasonably be determined to
    have been provided by the contributor for the purpose of . . .
    influencing" the Maine campaign and similar efforts elsewhere. 
    Id. § 1056-B(2-A)(C);
    Compl., ¶ 34.
    Other similarly inexplicit emails in NOM's list would
    necessarily lead to the same conclusion. To give one more example,
    NOM distributed a communication on September 4, 2009 stating that
    "[m]arriage is now officially on the ballot in Maine this November"
    and that "[m]oney is going to be critical to getting the message
    out."   Compl., ¶ 38; Docket No. 114-3, at 14.     The email asked
    readers to donate to Stand for Marriage Maine.   Although we think
    that a reasonable contributor who sent money to NOM in response to
    initial victory possible. When you donate to NOM, you're
    creating the next round of good news! Can you give $5,
    $25, or even $100 today to win the next victory for
    marriage?
    Docket No. 114-3, at 4. Later in the email, after a paragraph
    explaining why "Maine is about more than Maine" in the campaign
    against same-sex marriage, the reader was told that "ordinary
    people like you can still make a difference! Even a small donation
    — maybe a monthly pledge of just $10 — can help us make your voice
    heard." 
    Id. In addition,
    this message, like each of the twelve
    other emails listed in the complaint, contained a hyperlinked
    "Donate" button that sent potential donors to the donations screen
    at NOM's website. Compl., ¶ 39.
    -30-
    this communication would expect NOM to use the funds to influence
    the referendum campaign – thus triggering subsection B – subsection
    C   eliminates    any   doubt   that    such     contributions,      even   though
    prompted by an explicit solicitation on behalf of a separate
    organization, would fall within the scope of section 1056-B. Given
    NOM's prominent role in the Maine campaign and the urgent tone of
    the   message,    NOM   reasonably      could    predict     that   donations     it
    received as a result of this email would be classified by the
    Commission as "for the purpose of" influencing the upcoming Maine
    election.
    Moreover, in evaluating any such donations, it is also
    significant      that   the   relationship      between    NOM    and    Stand   for
    Marriage Maine was extremely close during the 2009 campaign. NOM's
    executive director was a member of Stand for Marriage Maine's
    executive committee, and he was identified as one of the PAC's
    "primary    decision-makers      and     fundraisers."           Nat'l   Org.    for
    
    Marriage, 666 F. Supp. 2d at 200
    .               NOM provided a total of $1.6
    million to the PAC as of October 20, 2009.                Id.; see also NOM 
    I, 649 F.3d at 48
    (noting that NOM spent $1.8 million in Maine in
    2009).     Such objective information, along with the timing of the
    contributions relative to the election, reasonably should inform
    "the context of the contribution."            Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A,
    §   1056-B(2-A)(C).       Indeed,      in   keeping   with    the    illustrative
    permissible background information cited by the Court in Wisconsin
    -31-
    Right to Life, timing is a particularly key contextual clue that a
    contribution should be deemed within the scope of subsection C.
    In sum, we see no constitutional problem with expecting
    entities like appellants to make pragmatic, objective judgments
    about the nature of the contributions they receive where their own
    conduct    and   communications      are    the    primary     elements    in    the
    determination.     Appellants have not demonstrated that subsection C
    is unconstitutionally vague as applied to any of their actual or
    anticipated      contributions.       Hence,      as   presented   here,    their
    vagueness challenge to subsection C fails.               Cf. Humanitarian Law
    
    Project, 130 S. Ct. at 2720
    (noting that "the scope of the . . .
    statute    may   not   be    clear   in   every    application[,]    [b]ut       the
    dispositive point here is that the statutory terms are clear in
    their application to plaintiffs' proposed conduct").
    III.
    For the reasons set forth above, we conclude that section
    1056-B     satisfies    constitutional         standards.      Appellants       have
    demonstrated no circumstances in which the statute fails to provide
    them fair warning of its reach.           Hence, we reject their due process
    vagueness claim.        The provision's $100 reporting threshold is
    narrowly    tailored    to    meet   Maine's      compelling    interest    in    an
    informed electorate.         The statute is not overbroad in violation of
    the First Amendment.         Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the
    district court.
    So ordered.
    -32-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 11-1196

Citation Numbers: 669 F.3d 34, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1770, 2012 WL 265843

Judges: Boudin, Selya, Lipez

Filed Date: 1/31/2012

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 11/5/2024

Authorities (18)

ProtectMarriage. Com v. Bowen , 599 F. Supp. 2d 1197 ( 2009 )

Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project , 130 S. Ct. 2705 ( 2010 )

In Re Two Appeals Arising Out of the San Juan Dupont Plaza ... , 994 F.2d 956 ( 1993 )

Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. , 115 S. Ct. 1043 ( 1995 )

National Organization for Marriage v. McKee , 666 F. Supp. 2d 193 ( 2009 )

National Organization for Marriage v. McKee , 765 F. Supp. 2d 38 ( 2011 )

Costa-Urena v. Segarra , 590 F.3d 18 ( 2009 )

Ridley v. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority , 390 F.3d 65 ( 2004 )

National Organization for Marriage v. McKee , 649 F.3d 34 ( 2011 )

california-pro-life-council-inc-v-karen-getman-chairman-of-the-fair , 328 F.3d 1088 ( 2003 )

Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. , 102 S. Ct. 1186 ( 1982 )

Ward v. Rock Against Racism , 109 S. Ct. 2746 ( 1989 )

Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. , 127 S. Ct. 2652 ( 2007 )

United States v. Williams , 128 S. Ct. 1830 ( 2008 )

Buckley v. Valeo , 96 S. Ct. 612 ( 1976 )

United States v. Ilario M.A. Zannino , 106 A.L.R. Fed. 1 ( 1990 )

Grayned v. City of Rockford , 92 S. Ct. 2294 ( 1972 )

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission , 130 S. Ct. 876 ( 2010 )

View All Authorities »