Libertarian Party of Alabama v. John Harold Merrill, Alabama Secretary of State

For over fifty years, since this Court’s summary affirmance in Socialist Workers Party v. Rockefeller, 314 F. Supp. 984 (S.D.N.Y.) (three judge court), summarily affirmed, 400 U.S. 806 (1970), every federal court in the nation that has considered the question, has held unequivocally that if a state provides a voter registration list free of charge to major political parties, it cannot, consistent with the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, charge a fee to minor political parties for the list. The lower court’s decision in this case has now created a split of authority on this important constitutional question and was wrongly decided. This case squarely presents the following question: Does it violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution for a State to discriminate against minor political parties by providing copies of a legally required, computerized, taxpayer-funded, state voter registration list free of charge to major political parties, while requiring minor political parties to pay an exorbitant fee ($35,912.76) to obtain a copy?