STATE OF WASHINGTON THURSTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT

IN THE MATTER OF:
LEVI GUERRA, ESTHER V. JOHN, and PETER B. CHIAFALO,
Petitioners.

NO. 17-2-02446-34
SECRETARY OF STATE’S RESPONDING BRIEF

I. INTRODUCTION

Petitioners Levi Guerra, Esther V. John, and Peter B. Chiafalo each violated RCW 29A.56.340 when they cast a presidential and vice-presidential electoral ballot for a person not nominated by the Democratic Party, the party whose candidates won the popular vote in Washington. As a condition of their selection as a presidential elector, each of the Petitioners pledged to cast an electoral ballot for that party’s nominees. RCW 29A.56.320. By the plain terms of RCW 29A.56.340, Petitioners are each subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for their respective violations. None of the Petitioners contest that the State did not prevent them from casting these electoral ballots or that the Secretary of State followed the correct procedures in issuing a Notice of Violation under RCW 29A.56.340 to each of them. Instead, Petitioners contest the constitutionality of RCW 29A.56.340 under the First and Twelfth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Their claims fail.