Porter

In the weeks preceding the closely contested presidential elections of 2000, a number of Internet websites were created that facilitated discussions among voters regarding potential strategic ways of voting. Through these discussions, the participants could agree to informally “swap” their votes, generating additional votes for the Democratic candidate in crucial swing states while allowing the third party candidate to garner enough votes to become eligible for federal financing in future elections. Plaintiffs, the creator and users of one such website, brought suit alleging violations of the First Amendment after Defendant Bill Jones (“Jones”), then Secretary of State for California, sent a cease and desist letter to the operators of a similar website in which he threatened to prosecute them under California Elections Code sections 18521 and 18522 for brokering the exchange of votes. Plaintiffs appeal the district court’s order staying their claims for declaratory and injunctive relief under the abstention doctrine established in Railroad Commission v. Pullman, 312 U.S. 496 , 61 S.Ct. 643 , 85 L.Ed. 971 (1941), and dismissing their claims for damages under Rule 12(b)(6)…