Case 1:11-cv-01428-CKK-MG-ESH Document 10 Filed 08/30/11 Page 1 of 5 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA STATE OF FLORIDA Office of the Secretary of State 500 S. Bronough Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250 Plaintiff, vs. Case No: 1:11-cv-01428-CKK THREE JUDGE COURT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., in his official capacity as Attorney General of the United States, Defendants, and, KENNETH SULLIVAN, ALBERT LEO SULLIVAN, MICHAEL BERMAN, SEN. ARTHENIA JOYNER, REP. JANET CRUZ, HELEN GORDON DAVIS, JOYCE HAMILTON HENRY, HAROLD WEEKS, OPHELIA ALLEN, PROJECT VOTE, VOTING FOR AMERICA, HARRY L. SAWYER, JR., ION SANCHO, and REV. TOM SCOTT, Defendant-Intervenors. MOTION FOR LEAVE TO INTERVENE AS DEFENDANTS Movants request the Court to grant them leave to intervene as defendants in this action as of right pursuant to Rule 24(a(2, Fed.R.Civ.P., or in the alternative grant them permissive intervention pursuant to Rule 24(b(1(B, Fed.R.Civ.P. Movants Kenneth Sullivan, Albert Leo Sullivan, and Michael Berman are registered voters and residents of Monroe County, Florida. Movant Kenneth Sullivan is a Black male;
Case 1:11-cv-01428-CKK-MG-ESH Document 10 Filed 08/30/11 Page 2 of 5 movant Albert Leo Sullivan is a White male; and movant Berman is a White male. Movants Sen. Arthenia Joyner, Joyce Hamilton Henry, Rep. Janet Cruz, and Helen Gordon Davis are registered voters and residents of Hillsborough County, Florida. Movants Joyner and Henry are Black females; movant Cruz is a Hispanic female; and movant Davis is a White female. Movants Harold Weeks and Ophelia Allen are registered voters and residents of Collier County, Florida. Movant Weeks is a Black male, and President of the NAACP in Collier County; movant Allen is a Black female. Movants are also plaintiffs in a pending action seeking an injunction against any implementation of the voting changes at issue in this case absent preclearance under Section 5. See Sullivan v. Scott, Civ. No. 11-cv-10047-KMM (S.D. Fla.. Movant Project Vote is a nonpartisan, non-profit 501(c(3 organization incorporated in Louisiana; its principal office is located at 737-1/2 8th Street, S.E., Washington, D.C., 20003. Since its founding in 1982, Project Vote has assisted millions of low-income and minority citizens nationwide in registering and helped to register to vote, trained hundreds of low-income and minority organizers, and provided registrants with nonpartisan, follow-up voter education on issues of voter identification, poll locations, provisional voting and election dates. It has assisted citizens in Florida to register to vote since 2004, either directly or in partnership with other Florida-based civic groups. Movant Voting for America, an affiliate of Project Vote, is a 501(c(3 nonprofit organization incorporated in the District of Columbia in 2009. Voting for America is actively developing plans to conduct paid voter-registration drives in Florida in 2012 in partnership with Florida-based civic groups. Voting for America will focus its efforts in minority communities in Hillsborough, Orange, Duval, Miami-Dade, and Broward Counties. 2
Case 1:11-cv-01428-CKK-MG-ESH Document 10 Filed 08/30/11 Page 3 of 5 Movant Harry L. Sawyer, Jr., is the Supervisor of Elections of Monroe County, Florida. Ion Sancho is the Supervisor of Elections of Leon County, Florida. The duties of the Supervisor of Elections include: administering county, state, and federal elections; registering voters; providing for absentee and early voting; and upholding and administering state election laws. Rev. Tom Scott is a Black male, a resident of Tampa, Florida, a registered voter, and the Senior Pastor of the 34th Street Church of God. He served four years on the Tampa City Council and ten years on the Hillsborough County Commission. He is a strong advocate of early voting and increasing the opportunities for voter registration. Movants request the Court grant them leave to intervene as defendants in this action as of right pursuant to Rule 24(a(2, Fed.R.Civ.P. As appears more fully from the attached memorandum, the grounds for the motion are that movants claim an interest in the property or transaction that is the subject of this action and are so situated that disposing of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede their ability to protect their interest. Movants further allege that their interest is not adequately represented by existing parties. In the alternative, movants request the Court grant them permissive intervention pursuant to Rule 24(b(1(B, Fed.R.Civ.P., on the grounds that they have a claim or defense that shares with the main action a common question of law or fact. If intervention is granted, movants will: (i participate in the action on the schedule that will be established for the existing parties; (ii avoid unnecessary delays or duplication of efforts in areas satisfactorily addressed and represented by the existing Defendants, to the extent possible; and (iii coordinate all future proceedings with the existing Defendants to the extent possible. 3
Case 1:11-cv-01428-CKK-MG-ESH Document 10 Filed 08/30/11 Page 4 of 5 This motion is accompanied by movants answer setting forth the claims and defenses for which intervention is sought. intervene. Counsel for Plaintiff has advised counsel for movants that Plaintiff opposes the motion to WHEREFORE, movants request that their Motion for Leave to Intervene as Defendants be granted. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Arthur B. Spitzer Estelle H. Rogers Arthur B. Spitzer (D.C. Bar No. 235960 Project Vote American Civil Liberties Union 737 1/2 8th St., SE of the Nation s Capital Washington, DC 20003 1400 20th Street, N.W., Suite 119 202-546-4173, ext. 310 Washington, D.C. 20036 erogers@projectvote.org Tel. 202-457-0800 Fax 202-452-1868 art@aclu-nca.org M. Laughlin McDonald American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Inc. 230 Peachtree Street, NW Suite 1440 Atlanta, GA 30303-1227 (404 523-2721 Lmcdonald@aclu.org Randall Marshall American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida, Inc. 4500 Biscayne Blvd Suite 340 Miami, FL 33137 Tel: (786 363-2700 Fax: (786 363-1108 Rmarshall@aclufl.org Attorneys for Movants 4
Case 1:11-cv-01428-CKK-MG-ESH Document 10 Filed 08/30/11 Page 5 of 5 Certificate of Service I certify that on this 30 th day of August, 2011, a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel for Plaintiff: Daniel E. Nordby, General Counsel Ashley Davis, Assistant General Counsel Florida Department of State 500 S. Bronough St Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Although the United States and Attorney General Holder have not entered an appearance in this action, I further certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was mailed to: U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Voting Rights Section P.O. Box 66128 Washington, DC 20035-6128 /s/ Arthur B. Spitzer Arthur B. Spitzer 5