Bryan Norris and Norris for Arkansas v. Tim Griffin and Cole Jester

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas grants the defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings and denies the plaintiffs’ motion to amend as futile. The court holds that Arkansas Act 728, which prohibits remaining within 100 feet of a polling location except for lawful voting-related purposes, regulates speech as applied to exit polling but is constitutional under nonpublic-forum and, alternatively, time-place-manner analysis. The court also concludes that the plaintiffs retain standing based on planned exit polling during future elections.

Holdings

1. Norris continued to have standing because his concrete plans to conduct exit polling during the 2026 general election and the 2030 primary preserved a live controversy.
2. As applied to Norris's proposed exit polling, Act 728 regulates speech because the statute's anti-influence and anti-electioneering purposes are implicated by communication of a message to voters.
3. The area within 100 feet of a polling place on election day is a nonpublic forum, and Act 728 is reasonable in light of the forum's purpose of voting and is not an effort to suppress expression because of the speaker's viewpoint.
4. Even assuming the area around a polling place is a traditional public forum, Act 728 is constitutional as a content-neutral time, place, and manner restriction because it is narrowly tailored to significant governmental interests and leaves ample alternative channels for communication.
5. Leave to file the proposed second amended complaint was properly denied because amendment would be futile.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Norris continued to have standing and whether the dispute remained justiciable after he lost the 2026 primary runoff.
2. Whether Act 728 regulates speech, as applied to Norris's proposed exit polling.
3. Whether the area within 100 feet of a polling place is a nonpublic forum on election day and, if so, whether Act 728 is reasonable and viewpoint neutral.
4. Alternatively, whether Act 728 satisfies the requirements for a content-neutral time, place, and manner restriction in a traditional public forum.
5. Whether leave to file a second amended complaint should be denied because amendment would be futile.

Disposition

other