Guadalupe P. Manglona v. Luis A. Benavente

The Legislature of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands amended its elections laws following the 1985 general election. Act of April 9, 1986, Pub.L. No. 5-7. In an opinion filed concurrently with this one, Nabors v. Manglona, 829 F.2d 902 (9th Cir.1987), we hold that neither the Elections Board nor the courts any longer possess jurisdiction to hear section 6421 “election contests” concerning elections for seats in the Commonwealth Legislature, including contests arising out of the 1985 elections. Nabors , at 906. Here, we address a separate but closely related issue of jurisdiction: if a seat in the Commonwealth Legislature is at issue, may the courts still consider ballot validity challenges brought under section 6415(a) of the Elections Act? We hold that courts lack jurisdiction over such cases as well.

I. Facts

Guadalupe Manglona and Luis Benavente were among the candidates vying for three seats in Election District No. 1 to the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth Legislature. The election was held on November 3, 1985, and resulted in a tie for the third seat. Manglona and Benavente each received 664 votes. Manglona filed an elections contest with the…