League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale Files Federal Lawsuit:
Cupertino Anti-Nonprofit Speech Ordinance
In March of 2021 the City of Cupertino passed into law an ordinance, Ordinance No. 21-2222 the Regulation of Lobbying Activities Ordinance, including definitions of and requirements for Lobbyist Registration, Reporting and Disclosure Requirements, . Any organization that is defined as a lobbyist by this ordinance risks being penalized if they fail to register and pay a registration fee.
The League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale believes this ordinance’s definition of “lobbyist” is too vague and chills voter engagement by harming voter service organizations.
LWVCS Press Release / October 7, 2022
LWV of Cupertino-Sunnyvale Opposes City’s Motion to Dismiss
in City Ordinance Lawsuit
Ordinance language must be amended to avoid chilling voter engagement in Cupertino
Today, the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale filed its opposition to the City of Cupertino’s motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit filed by the League that challenges the city’s “lobbyist regulation” ordinance. The League is represented by Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
“The League is not opposed to ordinances regulating paid lobbyists; we are opposed to badly written ordinances that harm voters,” said Tracey Edwards, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale. “Some have implied that opposition to an ordinance regulating paid lobbyists would be unreasonable. We agree. Unfortunately, the city ordinance does not make a meaningful distinction between paid lobbyists and nonprofit advocates like the League.”
As it is written, the city ordinance defines “lobbying” as “attempting to influence a Legislative Action or Administrative Action of the City,” and defines “influencing” as any “purposeful communication” that promotes, supports, modifies, opposes, causes the delay or abandonment of conduct, or intentionally affects the behavior of a city official through persuasion, information, incentives, statistics, studies, or analyses. Those actions are the essence of political speech. This overbroad language would effectively chill the participation of regular citizens and good-government groups like the League to express their views on local government.
“Freedom of speech and freedom to address the government are core protections afforded by both the California Constitution and the US Constitution. To regulate political speech, an ordinance must be narrowly tailored, and this ordinance is written far too broadly. The City could fix the wording, but they won’t, so the Courts will have to do so,” said Michael Dockterman, a Steptoe partner. “Imposing conditions on people who want to speak to their government officials is antithetical to the founding principles of this nation.”
LWVCS Press Release / July 19, 2022
League of Women Voters Files Lawsuit Against
Cupertino Anti-Nonprofit Speech Ordinance
Today, the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale filed a Federal lawsuit challenging the city’s anti-nonprofit speech ordinance, which requires nonprofit organizations to register as lobbyists. A Press Release was issued by the League on July 19.
“This ordinance is an attack on nonprofit organizations that seek to educate and empower voters and engage with their elected officials to seek reforms. Ultimately, the voters will suffer,” said Tracey Edwards, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale. “At the League, engaging with state and local officials on behalf of voters and communities is a key part of protecting a fair, equitable, and representative government, and our voices deserve to be heard."
“This ordinance violates the First Amendment rights to association and free speech, and ultimately hurts voters who have the right to engage with their elected officials without penalty,” said Celina Stewart, Chief Counsel for the League of Women Voters of the United States, in a Press Release issued by the LWVUS. “The overly broad definition of ‘lobbyist’ places an unnecessary burden on nonprofit organizations like the League of Women Voters and our partners as we work to empower voters and defend democracy through voter participation.”
The case is brought by the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale, which is represented by Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
“On its face, Cupertino’s ordinance treats any organization that occasionally advocates in Cupertino as if the organization and its members were paid lobbyists. That presumption violates the federal and state constitutional protections for free speech, freedom of association and assembly, and the rights of citizens to tell government what they think of the job that government is doing. The presumption that anyone who engages in such activities in Cupertino must file reports and disclose all sources of funds flouts cherished American values and should be declared unconstitutional,“ said Michael Dockterman, a Steptoe partner. ”
Read about the ordinance Here.
Read the full LWVCS complaint Here.
Read the LWVCS July 19, 2022 Press Release Here.
Read the LWVCS October 7, 2022 Press Release Here.