National Council of La Raza v. Barbara Cegavske

The plaintiffs in this case are three civil rights organizations, National Council of La Raza (“NCLR”) and the Las Vegas and Reno-Sparks chapters of the NAACP (collectively, “Plaintiffs”). They appeal the dismissal with prejudice of their complaint, which alleges that Nevada’s Secretary of State and Director of the Department of Health and Human Services (collectively, “Nevada” or “the State”) have violated, and continue to violate, Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (“NVRA”). Section 7 requires states to distribute voter registration materials and to make assistance available to people who visit, and make certain requests of, public assistance offices. We must decide whether Plaintiffs have Article III and statutory standing to bring suit. We hold that they do and reverse the district court’s dismissal of their complaint.

I. Facts and Procedural Background

A. The NVRA

Section 7 of the NVRA is part of a comprehensive statute designed to facilitate voter registration. The section seeks to increase registration of “the poor and persons with disabilities who do not have driver’s licenses and will not come into contact with the other princip[al] place…