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Lawsuit: Pro-Dickman political action committee seeking overturn of state law limiting use of ‘re-elect’ in campaign material

Riley Snyder
Riley Snyder
Criminal JusticeElection 2020
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A libertarian-leaning political action committee backing a Republican legislative candidate in a key race for the Assembly is suing Nevada’s top election official over a “threatening” letter. 

Make Liberty Win, a federal political action committee with a state offshoot in Nevada, filed a lawsuit in federal court last week challenging Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske’s office over a threatened regulatory action regarding ‘doorhanger’ campaign advertisements encouraging voters to support Republican Assembly candidate Jill Dickman.

The PAC, which was founded by supporters of former presidential candidate Ron Paul, says it was asked in early October by the secretary of state’s office to cease using the term “re-elect” on materials supporting Dickman, who served one term in the Assembly district between 2014 to 2016, losing re-election bids in 2016 and 2018. 

The enforcement action was based on a 1989 state law that generally prohibits candidates from using the term “reelect” or creating an implication that they are the incumbent office-holder unless they are in fact elected and currently serving in that district.

In its complaint to the court, Make Liberty Win challenged the interpretation of “re-elect” — saying it wasn’t creating an impression of incumbency because the material didn’t outright state she was in office — and said the secretary of state’s office failed to follow proper administrative procedures and allow them to dispute the alleged violation.

They also allege that the law itself unconstitutionally chills First Amendment free speech protections, and should be struck down by the court.

“Liberty is now confronted with the choice between being chilled in its political expression in the days before an election, and continuing to exercise its fundamental First Amendment rights despite the ongoing express threat of unspecified amounts of monetary fines,” an attorney for the group wrote in the filing.

In a reply filing, attorneys representing the secretary of state’s office said they wouldn’t be opposed to a “narrow” injunction specific to the facts of the case, but that a court order overturning state law would be overly broad and would not necessarily clear the “irreparable harm” threshold required for court intervention.

Deputy Solicitor General Gregory Zunino wrote in a reply brief filed Monday that the 1989 law prohibiting use of the term ‘re-elect’ for non-incumbents had a relatively weak enforcement method — a vague reference authorizing civil court proceedings for violations of the election law chapter as a whole, meaning “it is a virtual certainty that (Make Liberty Win) will suffer no adverse legal consequences as the result of having encouraged voters to ‘RE-ELECT JILL DICKMAN FOR STATE ASSEMBLY.’”

“In fact, it is not clear what type of remedy a court could order, or whether there is even a legal mechanism for enforcing (that part of state law),” Zunino wrote in the briefing. “Compliance is arguably voluntary.”

The filing notes that Cegavske “does not intend to commence any kind of enforcement action against (Make Liberty Win) pending the final disposition of these proceedings,” and that Zunino has “instructed (the employee) to stand down.”

The case is scheduled for a hearing on Thursday.

The group’s funding is somewhat opaque. According to state campaign finance records, the federal Make Liberty Win PAC transferred $79,000 to the state version of the PAC, which in turn spent about the same amount ($78,500) with a Virginia-based company called “PAC Managements Services, LLC.” The contribution and expenses were both incurred on the same day (Sept. 23), with listed categories of expenses including office supplies, travel, advertising, paid staff, consultants and polling.

Funding for the federal Make Liberty Win PAC is also difficult to follow. It is registered as what’s called a hybrid or “Carey” Committee, which essentially means it operates both a traditional PAC (subject to disclosure and contribution limits) and Super PAC (no contribution limits) under the same roof. 

According to filings with the Federal Elections Commission, the federal PAC has raised a sizable $3.9 million through the 2020 election cycle (and reported spending $3.4 million). The largest donor to the group is Young Americans for Liberty, a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization founded by supporters of former Texas Rep. Ron Paul which has contributed $2.5 million to the federal PAC.

In its court filing, the group disclosed that it had purchased 28,000 identical door hangers at the cost of about $3,000, and planned to spend about $1,600 to employ seven contractors at a phone bank to support Dickman’s candidacy.

The group has endorsed Dickman, who is running against Democratic incumbent Skip Daly, and fellow Assembly Republican candidate Andy Matthews.

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