# Many Cultures, One Message v. Clements

> District Court, W.D. Washington · November 8, 2011 · 830 F. Supp. 2d 1111

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/8694519

## Case

- **Full name:** MANY CULTURES, ONE MESSAGE v. Jim CLEMENTS
- **Court:** District Court, W.D. Washington
- **Decided:** November 8, 2011
- **Citations:** 830 F. Supp. 2d 1111; 86 Fed. R. Serv. 1437; 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129380; 2011 WL 5515515
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion of the court by Strombom
- **Judges:** Strombom
- **Cited by:** 2 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT FOR DEFENDANTS
KAREN L. STROMBOM, United States Magistrate Judge.
This matter comes before the Court on plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ. P.”) 56. The parties have consented to have this matter heard by the undersigned Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 (c), Fed.R.Civ.P. 73 and Local Rule MJR 13. After having reviewed plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, defendants’ response to that motion, plaintiffs’ reply thereto and the remaining record—including the parties’ supplemental briefing regarding standing—the Court finds that plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment should be denied, and that summary judgment should be granted in favor of defendants.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs’ have brought this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , alleging RCW 42.17.200 (the section of Wash *1122 ington’s campaign finance, lobbying and public disclosure laws, RCW Chapter 42.17, dealing with “grassroots lobbying”) and RCW 42.17.160 (the section of RCW Chapter 42.17 setting forth certain exemptions from Washington’s lobbying registration and reporting requirements) and regulations issued by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (“PDC”) implementing and enforcing those provisions, are unconstitutional on their face and as applied to plaintiffs. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that the above statutory provisions and regulations: (1) violate the First Amendment right of anonymous political and free speech, the right of association, the right to petition the government, and the right against prior restraint; (2) that they are overbroad and void for vagueness; and (3) that they violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Plaintiffs seek relief in the form of a declaratory order, as well as both a preliminary and a permanent injunction.
I. Washington’s Public Disclosure Laws
Initiative 276 was “overwhelmingly approved” by Washington voters in 1972, receiving 72% of the vote. ECF #22, Exhibit 1, The History and Intent of Initiative 276, David Cuillier, David Dean and Dr. Susan Dente Ross (issued May 4, 2004, and updated August 24, 2004), pp. 1, 4. The Initiative also gathered “a far greater number of signatures than it needed to be placed on the ballot.” ECF #25-2, Exhibit 1, Declaration of Jolene Unsold, p. 4. It “required disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures, lobbying expenditures, and the personal affairs of various officials.” ECF #25-2, Exhibit 1, p. 2; see also ECF # 22, Exhibit 1, p. 1. Initiative 276 led to what eventually became RCW Chapter 42.17, Washington’s campaign finance, lobbying and public disclosure laws. See ECF # 22, Exhibit 1, p. 1. It also created the PDC to enforce those laws. ECF # 25-2, Exhibit 1, p. 2; Voters Education Committee v. Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, 161 Wash.2d 470, 479 , 166 P.3d 1174 (2007).
“[T]he genesis of Initiative 276 occurred not just because of concerns about disclosure of money raised and spent on candidate campaigns and public records disclosure, but also a strong interest by the public in the disclosure of money raised and spent on legislative lobbying and ballot measure campaigns to enact legislation.” ECF # 25-2, Exhibit 1, p. 3. “The overall thrust” of Initiative 276 “was the people’s right to know, and to enable citizens to ‘follow the money’ in all sorts of campaigns” in Washington. Id. The paragraph that began the statement for Initiative 276 read as follows:
Our whole concept of democracy is based on an informed and involved citizenry. Trust and confidence in governmental institutions is at an all time low. High on the list of causes of this citizen distrust are secrecy in government and the influence of private money on governmental decision making. Initiative 276 brings all this out into the open for citizens and voters to judge for themselves.
ECF # 22, Exhibit 1, p. 2.
The official declaration of policy contained in RCW Chapter 42.17 expressly states in relevant part as well that it is “the public policy of the State of Washington” that “lobbying contributions and expenditures be fully disclosed to the public and that secrecy is to be avoided,” and that “the public’s right to know of ... lobbying ... far outweighs any right that that these matters remain secret and private.” RCW 42.17.010(1), (10). The declaration of policy goes on to state again in relevant part that:
The provisions of [RCW Chapter 42.17] shall be liberally construed to promote complete disclosure of all information respecting ... lobbying ... and full ac *1123 cess to public records as to assure continuing public confidence of fairness of elections and governmental processes, and so as to assure that the public interest will be fully protected----
RCW 42.17.010. However, “[i]n promoting such complete disclosure,” the declaration of policy further provides that RCW Chapter 42.17:
... [S]hall be enforced so as to insure that the information disclosed will not be misused for arbitrary and capricious purposes and to insure that all persons reporting under [RCW Chapter 42.17] will be protected from harassment and unfounded allegations based on information they have freely disclosed.
Id.
Specifically with respect to “grass roots lobbying,” RCW 42.17.200 provides in relevant part that:
Any person who has made expenditures, not reported by a registered lobbyist ... or by a candidate or political committee ... exceeding *five hundred dollars in the aggregate within any three-month period or exceeding *two hundred dollars in the aggregate within any one-month period[ 1 ] in presenting a program addressed to the public, a substantial portion of which is intended, designed, or calculated primarily to influence legislation shall be required to register and report, as provided in subsection (2) of this section, as a sponsor of a grass roots lobbying campaign.
RCW 42.17.200(1). The term “legislation” is defined to mean:
... [B]ills, resolutions, motions, amendments, nominations, and other matters pending or proposed in either house of the state legislature, and includes any other matter that may be the subject of action by either house or any committee of the legislature and all bills and resolutions that, having passed both houses, are pending approval by the governor.
RCW 42.17.020(30). In regard to registration and reporting requirements, RCW 42.17.200(2) provides in relevant part:
... Within thirty days after becoming a sponsor of a grass roots lobbying campaign, the sponsor shall register by filing with the commission a registration statement, in such detail as the commission shall prescribe, showing:
(a) The sponsor’s name, address, and business or occupation, and, if the spon *1124 sor is not an individual, the names, addresses, and titles of the controlling persons responsible for managing the sponsor’s affairs;
(b) The names, addresses, and business or occupation of all persons organizing and managing the campaign, or hired to assist the campaign, including any public relations or advertising firms participating in the campaign, and the terms of compensation for all such persons;
(c) The names and addresses of each person contributing twenty-five dollars or more to the campaign, and the aggregate amount contributed;
(d) The purpose of the campaign, including the specific legislation, rules, rates, standards, or proposals that are the subject matter of the campaign;
(e) The totals of all expenditures made or incurred to date on behalf of the campaign, which totals shall be segregated according to financial category, including but not limited to the following: Advertising, segregated by media, and in the case of large expenditures (as provided by rule of the [PDC]), by outlet; contributions; entertainment, including food and refreshments; office expenses including rent and the salaries and wages paid for staff and secretarial assistance, or the proportionate amount thereof paid or incurred for lobbying campaign activities; consultants; and printing and mailing expenses.
Other reporting requirements apply as well:
(3) Every sponsor who has registered under this section shall file monthly reports with the [PDC], which reports shall be filed by the tenth day of the month for the activity during the preceding month. The reports shall update the information contained in the sponsor’s registration statement and in prior reports and shall show contributions received and totals of expenditures made during the month, in the same manner as provided for in the registration statement.
(4) When the campaign has been terminated, the sponsor shall file a notice of termination with the final monthly report, which notice shall state the totals of all contributions and expenditures made on behalf of the campaign, in the same manner as provided for in the registration statement.
RCW 42.17.200. On the other hand, certain persons are made exempt from the registration and reporting requirements of RCW 42.17.200. These persons include— with certain exceptions not relevant here— the following:
(1) Persons who limit their lobbying activities to appearing before public sessions of committees of the legislature, or public hearings of state agencies;
(2) Activities by lobbyists or other persons whose participation has been solicited by an agency ...;
(3) News or feature reporting activities and editorial comment by working members of the press, radio, or television and the publication or dissemination thereof by a newspaper, book publisher, regularly published periodical, radio station, or television station;
(4) Persons who lobby without compensation or other consideration for acting as a lobbyist: PROVIDED, Such person makes no expenditure for or on behalf of any member of the legislature or elected official or public officer or employee of the state of Washington in connection with such lobbying.... [ 2 ]
*1125 (5) Persons who restrict their lobbying activities to no more than four days or parts thereof during any three-month period and whose total expenditures during such three-month period for or on behalf of any one or more members of the legislature or state elected officials or public officers or employees of the state of Washington in connection with such lobbying do not exceed twenty-five dollars ... [ 3 ];
(6) The governor;
(7) The lieutenant governor;
(8) ... members of the legislature;
(9) ... persons employed by the legislature for the purpose of aiding in the preparation or enactment of legislation or the performance of legislative duties;
(10) Elected officials, and officers and employees of any agency reporting [with respect to legislative and lobbying activities].
RCW 42.17.160.
RCW Chapter 42.17 also contains penalties for failure to comply with the requisite registration and reporting requirements. For example, RCW 42.17.390 provides in relevant part that:
(2) If any lobbyist or sponsor of any grass roots lobbying campaign violates any of the provisions of [RCW Chapter 42.17], his or her registration may be revoked or suspended and he or she may be enjoined from receiving compensation or making expenditures for lobbying ...
(3) Any person who violates any of the provisions of [RCW Chapter 42.17] may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each such violation....
(4) Any person who fails to file a properly completed statement or report within the time required by [RCW Chapter 42.17] may be subject to a civil penalty of ten dollars per day for each day each such delinquency continues.
(5) Any person who fails to report a contribution or expenditure as required by [RCW Chapter 42.17] may be subject to a civil penalty equivalent to the amount not reported as required.
(6) The court may enjoin any person to prevent the doing of any act herein prohibited, or to compel the performance of any act required herein.
The PDC itself may issue an order requiring any person who violates RCW Chapter 42.17 “to cease and desist from the activity that constitutes [the] violation and in addition, or alternatively, may impose one or more of the remedies provided in RCW 42.17.390(2) through (5).” RCW 42.17.395(4). On the other hand, “[n]o individual penalty assessed by the [PDC] may exceed” $1,700, and “in any case where multiple violations are involved in a single complaint ..., the maximum aggregate penalty may not exceed” $4,200. Id.
Washington’s Attorney General and other state “prosecuting authorities” also “may bring civil actions in the name of the state for any appropriate civil remedy, including but not limited to the special remedies provided in RCW 42.17.390.” RCW 42.17.400(1). Under certain circumstances, a citizen of Washington may bring a private cause of action for failure to *1126 comply with RCW Chapter 42.17. See RCW 42.17.400(4). Penalties for violations that may be assessed under this statutory provision include the following:
In any action brought under this section, the court may award to the state all costs of investigation and trial, including a reasonable attorney’s fee to be fixed by the court. If the violation is found to have been intentional, the amount of the judgment, which shall for this purpose include the costs, may be trebled as punitive damages....
RCW 42.17.400(5).
II. The Public Disclosure Commission
As noted above, the PDC “was created through the passage of Initiative 276 in 1972,” which was made “effective in 1973” and “codified in RCW Chapter 42.17,” and which “the PDC implements and enforces.” ECF # 25, ¶ 5. According to Doug Ellis, the PDC’s current Interim Executive Director, “[providing information to the public is a core mission of the PDC,” as “it enables the public to ‘follow the money’ with respect to campaigns and lobbying.” Id. at ¶ 10. “All reports filed with the PDC disclosing campaign, lobbying and other activities ... are public records,” and “[t]he PDC makes this information available to the public for inspection and copying.” Id. at ¶¶ at 10-11; see also RCW 42.17.440 (providing that all statements and reports filed under RCW Chapter 42.17 are to be treated as public records, and are to be made available for public inspection and copying). In addition, in regard to such public access:
Before the mid-1990s, all reports were filed on paper. Members of the public, and especially the media, would ask the PDC to provide them copies of the paper reports. Today, thousands of campaign finance and lobbying reports are filed electronically and made available on the PDC’s website ... In addition, paper reports filed by ... lobbyists are scanned and typically made available on the website within four hours of receipt by PDC staff and within 15 minutes for electronically filed reports....
... As a result, information from filed reports is quickly available online to the voters and to the public. The public can then use these reports to “follow the money” in campaigns and lobbying and also conduct their own analysis.
ECF # 25 at ¶¶ at 11-12. Indeed, making such information available to the public electronically was mandated by the Washington State Legislature itself:
By February 1, 2000, the [PDC] shall operate a web site or contract for the operation of a web site that allows access to reports, copies of reports, or copies of data and information submitted in reports, filed with the [PDC] under RCW 42.17.040, 42.17.065, 42.17.080, 42.17.100, and 42.17.105. By January 1, 2001, the web site shall allow access to reports, copies of reports, or copies of data and information submitted in reports, filed with the [PDC] under RCW 42.17.150, 42.17.170, 42.17.175, and 42.17.180. In addition, the [PDC] shall attempt to make available via the web site other public records submitted to or generated by the [PDC] that are required by [RCW Chapter 42.17] to be available for public use or inspection.[ 4 ]
*1127 RCW 42.17.367; ECF #25, ¶ 15. The legislature also has “directed that filing of reports with the PDC be made available through an electronic means,” and that “the PDC shall make available an electronic copy of ... reporting forms at no charge.” ECF # 25, ¶ 16; see also RCW 42.17.369; RCW 42.17.3691.
With further respect to public access, “information in lobbying reports filed with the PDC is available to the public” in the following ways:
• By Accessing the PDC Website. ...
[A] person can view and copy lobbying reports filed with the PDC, including grassroots lobbying reports. There is no charge for accessing the website, or printing documents from it.
• By Contacting the PDC by Telephone or Email. ... [A] person can also request copies of lobbying reports to be mailed to them, or emailed to them. Pursuant to [RCW 42.17.362], the PDC operates a toll-free telephone number to assist in providing easier access to the PDC by the public.... [The PDC’s] telephone numbers and email address are posted on [its] website.
• By Visiting [the PDC’s] Office. ...
[A] person can visit the PDC’s sole office location in downtown Olympia and ask for a copy of any filed form, and [the PDC] will provide it at [its] front desk. [The PDC’s] street address is posted on [its] website. [The PDC] also make a computer terminal and printer available to the public in [its] front lobby, so a person can search for and print reports or other information available on [its] website ....
ECF # 25, ¶ 21. In addition, the filer of a report who contacts the PDC, can receive both “formal and informal assistance” provided either “by PDC staff[, including via telephone and e-mail,] or, depending upon the question, by” the PDC itself. Id. at ¶24. Training provided by the PDC “is also available.” Id. If “PDC staff are unable to answer a question or the answer is not readily available on the [PDC’s] website, and the person inquiring seeks direction from the [PDC],” that person also may submit “an informal advisory opinion request, a formal declaratory order request ..., a formal request for guidance through issuance of an interpretive statement ..., or a formal rulemaking petition.” Id. at ¶ 25; see also RCW 34.05.230(1), 34.05.240, 34.05.330; WAC 390-12-250, 390-12-255. The PDC by statute also may “respond on a case-by-case basis to ‘modification requests’ ” seeking “a modification or suspension of the reporting requirements.” Ellis Declaration, ¶ 26; see also RCW 42.17.370(10). 5
To register and report as a grassroots lobbying campaign sponsor, a two-page form (the “L6 form”), which is available on *1128 the PDC’s website, must be filed with the PDC. See ECF # 25, ¶¶ 38-39. The following information is required to be disclosed on that form:
• The sponsor’s name, address;
• Topics of legislation about which the campaign is conducted (including bill, rule, rate, standard number if any);
• Principal officers;
• Who is organizing or managing the campaign (name, address, and occupation or business, and terms of compensation);
• Expenditures made or incurred in the campaign (radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, brochures, signs, printing and mailing, consultants, public relations, office expense, travel, salaries, contributions, entertainment, other expenses);
• Total expenditures; and
• Contributors giving more than $25.
Id. at ¶ 40. The L6 form also “provides instructions on who should file, the filing deadline, where to file (including [the] PDC address), and the PDC’s telephone numbers[,] including [its] toll-free number.” Id. at ¶ 41. Further, “guidance and instructions on how to file ... the L6 form ... is also available on [the PDC’s] website,” as is additional information concerning grass roots lobbying such as:
• Links to further resources for ... filing requirements, manuals and brochures, ... electronic filing options, and training schedules ...;
• Links to lobbying instruction manuals
• A flow chart showing when a grassroots lobbyist is required to file a disclosure report ...;
• Information on the filing deadlines for grassroots lobbying ...; and
• How to contact the PDC by telephone or email, plus a description of the agency’s office hours ...
Id. at ¶ 48. Links to RCW Chapter 42.17 and WAC Title 390—which contain the rules issued by the PDC—are provided on the PDC’s website as well, as are “a database of enforcement cases involving various sections of RCW 42.17, ... a summary of the cases and outcomes” and since the year 2000, “a summary of cases involving alleged violations of RCW 42.17.200.” Id. In addition, the PDC “issues declaratory orders upon request,” copies of which “are available to the public and filers on the PDC’s website,” as are scanned copies of L6 forms that are filed with the PDC. Id. at ¶¶ 51, 55, 58.
III. Plaintiffs Many Cultures, One Message and Conservative Enthusiasts
Plaintiff Many Cultures, One Message (“MCOM”) describes itself as “an unincorporated, nonprofit volunteer association based in Seattle.” ECF # 1, Civil Rights Complaint, ¶ 10. 6 It has no “by *1129 laws, articles of incorporation, or any other governing documents.” Id. at ¶ 28. MCOM is not a candidate for political office or a political committee, and does not make any expenditures on behalf of such candidates or committees or any registered lobbyist. Id. at ¶ 39. MCOM “does not pay any registered lobbyist to act on its behalf,” nor does it “expend money on behalf of any state officials.” Id. MCOM also does not reimburse its “members” for expenditures made in regard to contacting state officials or legislators, and while MCOM itself is “not ... compensated for its efforts,” it reimburses “its unpaid volunteers for expenditures made on MCOM’s behalf.” Id. at ¶¶ 41-42.
MCOM is “dedicated to preserving the diverse and vibrant neighborhoods of Southeast Seattle.” Id. at ¶ 10. More specifically, it was “formed to resist efforts by the City of Seattle to use Washington’s Community Renewal Law (CRL) ... to declare portions of Southeast Seattle a ‘Community Renewal Area,’ ” which “would have given the City [of Seattle] the power to take, via eminent domain, private homes and businesses in the area to transfer to private entities.” Id. at ¶ 29. MCOM “successfully mobilized public opposition to [the City of Seattle’s CRL efforts] and the City halted its efforts in 2007.” Id. at ¶ 30. Those efforts included distributing fliers, organizing community meetings, contacting “City agencies,” and “otherwise informing citizens about how to oppose use of the CRL in Southeast Seattle.” Id. at ¶31. Since “these efforts were directed largely at City officials regarding a City proposal,” though, MCOM “was not required to register under” RCW 42.17.200. Id. at ¶ 32.
MCOM also states in relevant part as follows in regard to its prior efforts/activities:
33. In the 2010 session of the Washington [State] Legislature, legislators introduced bills to reform the CRL and to prohibit eminent domain for economic development.
34. Similar bills had been considered in the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 sessions of the Legislature. These bills did not pass.
35. In 2009, a bill promoting Transit Oriented Development (TOD) was introduced in the Legislature.
36. MCOM was concerned that TOD would rely on use of the CRL.
37. Prior to the 2010 Legislative session, MCOM anticipated the need to mobilize local residents and business owners to contact their legislators and the Governor to (i) urge reform of the CRL and eminent domain laws, and (ii) ■to reject any TOD bill that did not foreclose reliance on the CRL. MCOM anticipated that a successful effort to promote its message would require expenditures of at least $1[,]000 in three months if these bills progressed.
38. The bills about which MCOM intended to mobilize grassroots activism in the 2010 session of the Washington [State] Legislature died in their respective committees by January 27, 2010.
Id. at ¶¶ 33-38. With respect to future activities, MCOM goes on to state in relevant part:
40. MCOM anticipates communicating with people who are not its members regarding eminent domain abuse.
*1130 41. MCOM ... will not be compensated for its efforts.
42. ... Although MCOM members may also contact state officials and legislators, they ... will not be reimbursed for any expenditure related thereto.
43. MCOM anticipates that [Legislation reforming the CRL and implementing TOD will be considered by future sessions of the Legislature.
45. MCOM will seek to develop support for eminent domain reform and against the implementation of TOD premised on a use of the CRL in the coming months and during the 2011 Legislative session and beyond.
Id. at ¶¶ 40-43, 45.
Plaintiff Red State Politics, d/b/a “Conservative Enthusiasts” (“CE”) describes itself as a “501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation” and/or “volunteer organization” registered “under the Internal Revenue Code,” and is based in Seattle. Id. at ¶¶ 11, 55. It is “run by unpaid volunteers,” has “no employees” and is “dedicated to educating the public about the benefits of lower taxes, less regulation, and smaller government.” Id. In terms of past activities, CE states it “has advanced its political goals by (1) speaking with elected officials; (2) establishing a public website; and (3) hosting monthly meetings and speakers about public policy issues.” Id. at ¶ 58. CE further states it “has not spent $500 in the aggregate in any one month or $1,000 in the aggregate in any three months on presenting a program addressed to the public, a substantial portion of which was intended, designed, or calculated primarily to influence legislation, as those terms are defined in” RCW 42.17.020. Id. at ¶ 56.
CE states it “anticipates ... that in future sessions of the [Washington State] legislature, legislators will seek to raise taxes, increase regulation, and grow the size of the State government,” and “wants to take an active role in opposing these efforts, including urging its supporters to contact state officials about these issues.” Id. at ¶¶ 56-57. Specifically with respect to future activities:
59. As it grows, [CE] plans to take the following additional actions to advance its goals: (1) establish an electronic contact system with interested individuals; (2) encourage individuals to send letters and e-mails to state officials; (3) create a database to leverage resources and effectively manage its contacts; (4) mobilize and educate its members and the public about legislation; (5) run advocacy ads in direct response to political activity by opposing groups; (6) hire several staff members to support its efforts; (7) further develop its website to assist with its education and advocacy efforts; and (8) participate in strategic litigation efforts.
60. It will solicit contributions and all contributions are and will be placed in a general fund.
61. [CE] anticipates that if its ability to engage in advocacy were not affected by operation of [RCW] 42.17.200, it would spend at least $500 in the aggregate in one month or $1,000 in aggregate in three months organizing efforts regarding these initiatives.
Id. at ¶¶ 59-61. Similar to MCOM:
62. [CE] is not a candidate or a political committee and no registered lobbyist, candidate, or political committee has or will report any expenditures made by [CE]. [CE] does not pay any registered lobbyist to act on its behalf and does not endorse political candidates. It does not make any expenditures on behalf of state officials.
63. [CE] intends to communicate with people who are not members of [CE] about its legislative initiatives. [CE] reimburses its volunteers for ex *1131 penditures made on [CE’s] behalf. Although its members may make contact with state officials concerning speaking engagements and pending legislation, such volunteers will not be reimbursed for any expenses incurred. [CE] will not be paid for its political activities.
Id. at ¶¶ 62-63.
IV. Plaintiffs’ Involvement with Washington’s Laws Governing Grassroots Lobbying and the Public Disclosure Commission
Sometime between April and August 2009, “an Institute for Justice[ 7 ] representative met with” CE “to discuss Washington State’s grassroots lobbying requirements.” ECF # 31-1, Exhibit 11, Defendants’ First Set of Requests for Admission, ¶ 20. Included in the agenda for an August 5, 2009 meeting between CE and IJ was discussing “[a]ffiliating with a litigation effort that seeks to overturn some State and National legislations that erodes [sic] participation and oversight of our governance.” Id. at ¶ 22. It is not clear whether CE was planning to challenge Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying prior to its first contact with IJ, but no evidence in the record indicates it was. See ECF # 24, Exhibit 6, Deposition of Mark Sussman at 50. 8
For its part, MCOM was not aware of Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying until informed thereof by the IJ. See ECF # 24, Exhibit 11, Declaration of Patricia Murakami at 14, 21. 9 Plaintiffs’ claim in their complaint that they reviewed “the agency materials concerning grassroots lobbying on the PDC’s website, but were unable to determine if the statutes applied to them.” ECF # 1, ¶ 74. Neither MCOM or CE, though, requested any of the following from the PDC, although, as noted above, they could have done so:
• Training on reporting grassroots lobbying;
*1132 • An informal advisory opinion, an interpretive statement or a rulemaking petition;
• A modification or suspension of the grassroots lobbying reporting requirements; or
• A rulemaking petition seeking to increase the monetary threshold reporting amounts.
See ECF #25, ¶¶ 24-26, 35, 49-50, 69. Nor had MCOM or CE prior to the filing of their petition for a declaratory order, discussed in greater detail below, “contacted PDC staff indicating any confusion or uncertainty” on their part regarding their filing under Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying. Id. at ¶ 68.
On December 3, 2009, plaintiffs filed a petition for a declaratory order with the PDC. See ECF # 1, ¶ 75; ECF # 25-3, Exhibit 21. While plaintiffs were given a “draft” of the petition to see “perhaps ahead of time,” and although it was prepared for them and filed on their behalf, the idea for pursuing that course of action “more or less” came on the legal advice IJ provided. ECF # 22, Exhibit 6 at 58-59; see also ECF # 22, Exhibit 11 at 26. Indeed, the first contact the PDC had with plaintiffs was through the filing of the petition by IJ legal counsel, not plaintiffs themselves. See ECF # 25, ¶ 71; see also ECF # 28, Declaration of Lori Anderson, ¶ 10, ECF # 29, Declaration of Tony Perkins, ¶ 7. The petition states in relevant part:
Question the Declaratory Order Is To Answer: Assuming [MCOM and CE] engage in the activities described below, are MCOM and CE required to (i) register with the [PDC], and (ii) file monthly statements, pursuant to RCW 42.17.200?
Statement of Facts Which Raise the Question: Our clients hereby state the following facts regarding their organizations and activities.
1. MCOM. MCOM is an unincorporated group dedicated to preserving the diverse and vibrant neighborhoods of Southeast Seattle. MCOM was initially formed to combat efforts by the City of Seattle to use Washington’s [CRL] ... to declare portions of Southeast Seattle a Community Renewal Area and authorize the taking of private homes and businesses for transfer to private entities. MCOM successfully mobilized public opposition to this and the City halted its efforts to use the CRL in 2007.
In the past, MCOM has not spent $500 in the aggregate in any one month or $1,000 in the aggregate in any three months on presenting a program addressed to the public, a substantial portion of which was intended, designed, or calculated to influence legislation, as those terms are defined in RCW 42.17.020. However, MCOM anticipates that, in the coming session of the Legislature, a bill will be introduced to substantially reform the CRL. MCOM also anticipates that a bill promoting Transit Oriented Development (TOD) will also be introduced in the coming session and MCOM is concerned that such development may be premised on use of the CRL. For these reasons, MCOM anticipates mobilizing the residents and business owners of Southeast Seattle to contact their legislators and the Governor to urge them to support reform of the CRL and to stop any TOD bill that relies upon the CRL. MCOM anticipates it will spend at least $500 in the aggregate in one month or $1,000 in aggregate in three months organizing efforts regarding these Legislative initiatives.
MCOM is not a candidate or a political committee and anticipates that no registered lobbyist, candidate, or political committee will report any expenditures made by MCOM on this effort. MCOM does not pay any registered lob *1133 byist to act on its behalf. It anticipates communicating with people who are not members of MCOM regarding these legislative initiatives. MCOM will reimburse volunteers for expenditures made on MCOM’s behalf. MCOM anticipates that its volunteers will each spend more than four days or parts thereof during any three month period and that its expenditures will exceed $25. MCOM will not be paid for its efforts.
2. CE. CE is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to educating the public regarding the benefits of lower taxes, less regulation, smaller government, and strong national defense. In the past, CE has not spent $500 in the aggregate in any one month or $1,000 in the aggregate in any three months on presenting a program addressed to the public, a substantial portion of which was intended, designed, or calculated primarily to influence legislation, as those terms are defined in RCW 42.17.020. However, CE anticipates that, in the coming session of the Legislature, numerous bills will be introduced to raise taxes, increase regulation, and grow the size of the State government. CE anticipates changing the nature of its organization to allow it to take a more active role in opposing these Legislative efforts, including contacting people on its email list and visitors to its website and urging them to contact state officials regarding these issues. CE anticipates it will spend at least $500 in the aggregate in one month or $1,000 in aggregate in three months organizing efforts regarding these Legislative initiatives.
CE is not a candidate or a political committee and anticipates that no registered lobbyist, candidate, or political committee will report any expenditures made by CE on this effort. CE does not pay any registered lobbyist to act on its behalf. It anticipates communicating with people who are not members of CE regarding these legislative initiatives. CE reimburses volunteers for expenditures made on CE’s behalf. CE anticipates that its volunteers will each spend more than four days or parts thereof during any three month period and that its expenditures will exceed $25. CE will not be paid for its efforts.
Uncertainty Necessitating Resolution Exists: It [sic] unclear whether MCOM or CE must register as sponsors of a grassroots lobbying campaign under RCW 42.17.200. In that regard, each organization is uncertain whether any of the exemptions to registration contained in RCW 42.17.160 would apply to their anticipated activities, specifically the exemption for uncompensated lobbying contained in RCW 42.17.160(4).
An Actual Controversy Arises from Such Uncertainty: MCOM and CE do not wish to register and submit monthly reports as sponsors of a grassroots lobbying campaign. Neither [MCOM nor CE] wishes to report, or otherwise make public, the names, addresses, or titles of the controlling persons responsible for managing their respective ... affairs or organizing and managing the[ir] respective ... campaigns. Neither [MCOM nor CE] wishes to report, or otherwise make public, the names and addresses of people or organizations contributing more than $25 to their efforts. Neither [MCOM nor CE] wishes to report, or otherwise make public, any expenditures made by such organizations in seeking to effectuate political change.
This Uncertainty Adversely Affects [MCOM and CE]: As noted above, neither [MCOM nor CE] wishes to be considered sponsors of grassroots lobbying campaigns. On the other hand, neither wishes to risk violating the registration and reporting requirements contained in RCW 42.17.200 and being subject to any attendant fines or penalties. Without a *1134 clear resolution, [MCOM and CE] may curtail [their] expressive activity to avoid having to register and report as the sponsor of a grassroots lobbying campaign.
ECF #25-3, Exhibit 21, pp. 1-3. The petition was signed by IJ legal counsel. See id. at p. 3.
Subsequent to the filing of the petition, the PDC continued to communicate with IJ legal counsel regarding the petition process, not plaintiffs. See ECF # 25, ¶ 80; ECF # 25-3, Exhibit 22. The petition was scheduled to be considered at the next PDC meeting on January 28, 2010. See ECF # 25, ¶ 80. Prior to that meeting, plaintiffs were sent “a series of questions about their organizational makeup and activities,” to which they “provided timely responses.” ECF # 1, ¶ 77. Although IJ legal counsel addressed the PDC at that meeting, no representative from MCOM or CE appears to have attended the meeting, nor did any representative therefrom address the PDC or provide any testimony concerning the petition. ECF # 25, ¶¶ 86, 94.
Following this meeting, a declaratory order was drafted by the PDC and sent to IJ legal counsel for comment. Id. at ¶ 89. That draft declaratory order was scheduled for review at the PDC’s February 26, 2010 meeting. See id. A copy of the order and the agenda for the February 26, 2010 meeting was posted on the PDC’s website. See id. In the order, the PDC “unanimously agreed that based upon the facts presented” in IJ legal counsel’s written materials and by IJ legal counsel at the January 28, 2010 meeting, and presented in the PDC staffs written materials and by the PDC staff at that meeting, none of the exceptions contained in RCW 42.17.160 applied “to exempt [MCOM and CE] from registering and reporting under RCW 42.17.200.” ECF #25-3, Exhibit 24, p. 1. IJ legal counsel “submitted written comments on the draft declaratory order to the [PDC] in a letter dated February 25, 2010,” asking that the PDC amend the order “to fully apply the exemptions listed in RCW 42.17.160.” ECF #25, ¶ 89. On February 26, 2010, though, the PDC “determined that it would enter [its final] declaratory order [concerning the petition] as drafted.” See ECF # 1, ¶ 81; ECF # 25, ¶ 91.
V. Proceedings in this Court
On April 15, 2010, plaintiffs filed their civil rights complaint with this Court. See ECF # 1, # 1-2, # 1-3. As was the case with the proceedings before the PDC, IJ legal counsel continues to represent plaintiffs in this matter. On April 6, 2011, plaintiffs filed their motion for summary judgment. See ECF #22. On May 9, 2011, defendants filed their response to plaintiffs’ motion (see ECF #24), and on May 13, 2011, plaintiffs’ filed their reply thereto (see ECF # 32). On May 24, 2011, the Court directed the parties to file additional briefing regarding the issue of plaintiffs’ standing in this case. See ECF # 33. The parties have filed their briefing in response thereto (see ECF # 35-# 38, #40), and thus plaintiffs’ motion is now ripe for review. Although plaintiffs have requested oral argument in this matter, the Court finds such argument to be unnecessary in order to effectively resolve the issues presented here.
DISCUSSION
I. Standard of Review
Summary judgment shall be rendered if the pleadings, exhibits, and affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In deciding whether summary judgment should be granted, the Court “must view the evi *1135 dence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party,” and draw all inferences “in the light most favorable” to that party. T.W. Electrical Serv., Inc. v. Pacific Electrical Contractors Ass’n, 809 F.2d 626 , 630-31 (9th Cir.1987). When a summary judgment motion is supported as provided in Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleading, but his or her response, by affidavits or as otherwise provided in Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, must set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2).
If the nonmoving party does not so respond, summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be rendered against that party. See id. The moving party must demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of fact for trial. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 257 , 106 S.Ct. 2505 , 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Mere disagreement or the bald assertion that a genuine issue of material fact exists does not preclude summary judgment. See California Architectural Building Products, Inc. v. Franciscan Ceramics, Inc., 818 F.2d 1466, 1468 (9th Cir.1987). A “material” fact is one which is “relevant to an element of a claim or defense and whose existence might affect the outcome of the suit,” and the materiality of which is “determined by the substantive law governing the claim.” T.W. Electrical Serv., 809 F.2d at 630.
Mere “[disputes over irrelevant or unnecessary facts,” therefore, “will not preclude a grant of summary judgment.” Id. Rather, the nonmoving party “must produce at least some ‘significant probative evidence tending to support the complaint.’ ” Id. (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256 , 106 S.Ct. 2505 ); see also California Architectural Building Products, Inc., 818 F.2d at 1468 (“No longer can it be argued that any disagreement about a material issue of fact precludes the use of summary judgment.”). In other words, the purpose of summary judgment “is not to replace conclusory allegations of the complaint or answer with conclusory allegations of an affidavit.” Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation, 497 U.S. 871, 888 , 110 S.Ct. 3177 , 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990).
The parties agree that there are no genuine issues of material fact in this case, and thus that entry of summary judgment is appropriate here. In addition, such judgment may be entered for the non-moving party “[e]ven when there has been no cross-motion for summary judgment,” since “a district court may enter summary judgment sua sponte against a moving party,” if the moving party “has had a ‘full and fair opportunity to ventilate the issues involved in the matter.’ ” Gospel Missions of America v. City of Los Angeles, 328 F.3d 548, 553 (9th Cir.2003) (quoting Cool Fuel, Inc. v. Connett, 685 F.2d 309, 312 (9th Cir.1982)). Because “[t]he salient issues” on which summary judgment is being granted for defendants were presented in plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion, and because plaintiffs have had a full and fair opportunity to ventilate those issues, the Court does “not commit reversible error by acting sua sponte” for defendants absent a cross-motion for summary judgment. Id.-, Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities v. New York Temporary State Commission on Regulation of Lobbying (“CICU”), 534 F.Supp. 489, 501 (N.D.N.Y.1982) (while defendants had not made cross motion for summary judgment, because there were no disputed facts and record was adequate regarding constitutional question presented, summary judgment could be granted for non-moving party).
II. Exclusion of Plaintiffs’ Expert Witness Evidence and Plaintiffs’ Exhibit 12
Plaintiffs include with their motion for summary judgment the declaration and *1136 report of Jeffrey Milyo, Ph.D., a tenured professor at the University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri, who describes his area of “academic expertise” as “American political economy, including the empirical analysis of the effects of political regulations and institutions.” ECF #22, Declaration of Jeffrey Milyo (“Milyo Declaration”), ¶¶ 15-16, Exhibit B. In his declaration, Dr. Milyo states there is “no scientific evidence” that laws governing grassroots lobbying “provide any public benefit” (such as increasing public confidence in government or providing useful information to legislators or the public), that those laws are “redundant or over-broad” given the existence of other laws that deal with lobbying, and that they “impose real costs on ordinary citizens.” Id. at ¶¶ 8-9, 11, 13, 45, 47, 59-60, 66-67.
Dr. Milyo based his conclusions in part on his review of the text of Chapter 42.17 and of the L6 form and instructions, as well as a number of “external sources,” including United States Supreme Court case law and publications concerning such topics as public opinion, lobbying, collective action, campaign disclosure, and political speech and political participation in general. Id. at ¶¶26, 34-36, 38, 42-43, 48-58, 61-63, 66, 70, 72-73, Exhibit A, Expert Report of Dr. Jeffrey Milyo (“Milyo Report”), Exhibit C, Source List of Dr. Jeffrey Milyo. Dr. Milyo also based his opinions and report in part on “earlier research” he conducted, which consisted of “an experiment to evaluate the ability of ordinary citizens to comply with the campaign finance disclosure laws of different states,” although it “did not examine” Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying. Id. at ¶¶ 14, 73-86, Exhibit A, pp. 14-16.
In their response to plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, defendants have moved to strike the evidence provided by Dr. Milyo, pursuant in part to Federal Rule of Evidence (“Fed.R.Evid.”) 702 and the failure of that evidence to comply with the criteria for relevance or reliability set forth in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 , 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993). See ECF # 24, p. 2, n. 1. Defendants also challenge the propriety of Dr. Mylo’s declaration on the basis that it “is.replete with legal conclusions, case law and legal arguments.” Id. Defendants, furthermore, object to Exhibit 12 attached to plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, asserting that because it is a law review article authored by an employee of IJ—specifically, the “director of strategic research” at IJ—it “does not qualify as evidence.” Id.; see also ECF #22, Exhibit 12, Mandatory Disclosure for Ballot-Initiative Campaigns, Dick M. Carpenter II, The Independent Review, v. 13, n. 4, p. 567 (Spring 2009).
A. Daubert and the Court’s “Gatekeeping” Role
Plaintiffs argue the Court should deny defendants’ motion to strike, complaining that no analysis or explanation for their objection to the evidence from Dr. Milyo, or as to why it fails to comply with the criteria in Daubert , was provided. Plaintiffs argue that “[without more,” they are not able to respond to defendants’ motion, and that defendants’ assertions “do not amount to a ‘Daubert’ challenge for this Court’s consideration.” ECF #32, p. 11 (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(b)(1)). What plaintiffs fail to realize, however, is that “[i]t is the proponent of the expert” witness—not the objecting party—“who has the burden of proving admissibility” here, which “must be established by a preponderance of the evidence.” Henricksen v. ConocoPhillips Co., 605 F.Supp.2d 1142, 1154 (E.D.Wash.2009) (quoting Lust v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 89 F.3d 594 , 598 (9th Cir.1996)) (emphasis added); see also Cooper v. Brown, 510 F.3d 870, 942 *1137 (9th Cir.2007); Cooper v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 259 F.3d 194, 199 (4th Cir.2001).
More specifically, and as discussed in greater detail below, “[t]he party presenting the expert must demonstrate that the expert’s findings are based on sound principles and that they are capable of [some objective,] independent validation.” Henricksen, 605 F.Supp.2d at 1154 (citing Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc. (“Daubert II”), 43 F.3d 1311 , 1316 (9th Cir.1995)); see also Cooper, 510 F.3d at 942 . The Court itself, furthermore, has an initial duty to ensure the requirements of Fed.R.Evid. 702 have been met, which are as follows:
If scientific, technical, or other knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.
Thus, far from being “disabled from screening” expert testimony or evidence under Fed.R.Evid. 702, the district court “must ensure that any and all [such] testimony or evidence admitted is not only relevant, but reliable.” Daubert, 509 U.S. at 589 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 ; see also Henricksen, 605 F.Supp.2d at 1153 (“Before a witness may come ‘before the [trier of fact] cloaked with the mantle of an expertf]’ under [Fed.R.Evid.] 702, ... ‘care must be taken to assure that a proffered witness truly qualifies as an expert, and that such [witness’s] testimony meets the requirements of [that] Rule[.]’ ”) (quoting Jinro America Inc. v. Secure Investments, Inc., 266 F.3d 993, 1004 (9th Cir.2001)). “[A]s a threshold matter,” therefore, the Court “must determine whether the proffered witness is ‘qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education[.]’ ” Id (quoting Fed.R.Evid. 702).
In other words, the district court at the outset has a “gatekeeping role” to perform with respect to evidence submitted as expert testimony. Cabrera v. Cordis Corp., 134 F.3d 1418, 1420 (9th Cir. 1998) (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 597 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 (“[T]he Rules of Evidence— especially Rule 702—... assign to the trial judge the task of ensuring that an expert’s testimony both rests on a reliable foundation and is relevant to the task at hand.”)); see also Cooper, 510 F.3d at 942 (“The trial court acts as a ‘gatekeeper’ to exclude expert testimony that does not meet the relevancy and reliability threshold requirements.”); Elsayed Mukhtar v. California State University, Hayward, 299 F.3d 1053, 1063 (9th Cir.2002); Smith & Nephew, Inc., 259 F.3d at 199 (trial judges act as gatekeepers under Fed.R.Evid. 702 to ensure any and all expert testimony not only is relevant, but reliable). Thus, “[a] trial judge, faced with a proffer of expert ... testimony, must conduct ‘a preliminary assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically valid and of whether that reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue.’ ” Smith & Nephew, Inc., 259 F.3d at 199 (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 592-93 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 ); see also United States v. Redlightning, 624 F.3d 1090, 1110 (9th Cir.2010) (district court correct to require showing of foundation for proffered expert testimony).
“[T]his basic gatekeeping obligation” of the district court, furthermore, applies not only to “scientific” testimony, but “to all expert testimony.” Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 147 , 119 S.Ct. 1167 , 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999) *1138 (noting that language of Fed.R.Evid. 702 “makes no relevant distinction between ‘scientific’ knowledge and ‘technical’ or ‘other specialized’ knowledge,” but instead “[i]t makes clear that any such knowledge might become the subject of expert testimony”). Further, “judges are entitled to broad discretion when discharging their gatekeeping function.” Hangarter v. Provident Life & Acc. Ins. Co., 373 F.3d 998, 1017 (9th Cir.2004) (citation omitted). The Ninth Circuit has emphasized the obligatory nature of the initial “gatekeeping” inquiry, by noting the “trial court’s broad latitude to make the reliability determination [regarding expert witness testimony or evidence] does not include the discretion to abdicate completely its responsibility to do so” 10 Elsayed Mukhtar, 299 F.3d at 1064 (emphasis in original); see also United States v. Velarde, 214 F.3d 1204, 1209 (10th Cir.2000) (“While ... the trial court is accorded great latitude in determining [admissibility of] expert testimony, Kumho and Daubert make it clear that the court must, on the record, make some kind of [admissibility] determination.”) (emphasis in original).
“The trial court’s ‘special obligation’ to determine the relevance and reliability of an expert’s testimony ... is vital to ensure accurate and unbiased decision-making by the trier of fact.” Elsayed Mukhtar, 299 F.3d at 1063 (citing and quoting Kumho Tire Co., 526 U.S. at 147, 152 , 119 S.Ct. 1167 (“Daubert’s gatekeeping requirement ... make[s] certain that an expert ... employs in the courtroom the same level of intellectual rigor that characterizes the practice of an expert in the relevant field.”)); see also Cooper, 510 F.3d at 943 ; Smith & Nephew, Inc., 259 F.3d at 200 . As the Supreme Court stated in Daubert, this is because:
... Unlike an ordinary witness, ... an expert is permitted wide latitude to offer opinions, including those that are not based on firsthand knowledge or observation .... Presumably, this relaxation of the usual requirement of firsthand knowledge—a rule which represent “a ‘most pervasive manifestation’ of the common law insistence upon ‘the most reliable sources of information,’ ”... is premised on an assumption that the expert’s opinion will have a reliable basis in the knowledge and experience of his discipline.
509 U.S. at 592 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 (quoting Advisory Committee’s Notes on Fed. R.Evid. 602, 28 U.S.C.App., p. 755 (citation omitted)).
As indicated above, Fed.R.Evid. 702 embodies “the twin concerns of ‘reliability’ ... and ‘helpfulness.’ ” Stilwell v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 482 F.3d 1187, 1192 (9th Cir.2007) (citation omitted); see also Hemmings v. Tidyman’s Inc., 285 F.3d 1174 , 1184 (9th Cir.2002) (“Whether testimony is helpful within the meaning of Rule 702 is in essence a relevance inquiry”); Elsayed Mukhtar, 299 F.3d at 1063 n. 7 (“Encompassed within the determination of whether expert testimony is relevant is whether it is helpful ... a ‘central concern’ of Rule 701.”) (citation omitted). Expert testimony that “does not relate to any issue in the ease is not relevant, and ergo, non-helpful.” Daubert, 509 U.S. at 591 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 ; see also Stilwell, 482 F.3d at 1192 (“[Reliable testimony must nevertheless be helpful”). To this end, the Court “must determine whether there is ‘a link between the expert’s testimony and *1139 the matter to be proved.’ ” Stilwell, 482 F.3d at 1192 (citation omitted); see also Daubert, 509 U.S. at 591-92 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 (helpfulness standard requires valid connection to pertinent inquiry as precondition to admissibility). Testimony “that falls short of achieving either” concern may be excluded. Stilwell, 482 F.3d at 1192 .
More specifically in regard to relevance, expert testimony sought to be admitted “must logically advance a material aspect of the [proponent] party’s case,” and “must be ‘tied to the facts’ ” of that case. Cooper, 510 F.3d at 942 (citing Daubert II, 43 F.3d at 1315, and quoting Kumho Tire Co., 526 U.S. at 150 , 119 S.Ct. 1167 ); see also Henricksen, 605 F.Supp.2d at 1154 (“The relevance prong under Daubert means that the evidence will assist the trier of fact to understand or determine a fact in issue.”). As for reliability, “Rule 702 demands that expert testimony relate to scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge, which does not include unsubstantiated speculation and subjective beliefs.” Diviero v. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., 114 F.3d 851, 853 (9th Cir.1997). This twin inquiry into relevance and reliability is succinctly described by the district court in Henricksen :
The court need not admit an expert opinion that is connected to the underlying data “only by the ipse dixit of the expert.” Gen. Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136, 146 , 118 S.Ct. 512 , 139 L.Ed.2d 508 (1997). It may exclude such testimony if it determines “that there is simply too great an analytical gap between the data and the opinion proffered.” Id. “The trial court’s gatekeeping function requires more than simply taking the expert’s word for it.” Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 43 F.3d 1311 , 1319 (9th Cir.1995) (“Daubert II”). In addition, “any step that renders [the expert’s] analysis unreliable ... renders the expert’s testimony inadmissible.... ” In re Silicone Gel Breast Implants Products Liability Litigation, 318 F.Supp.2d 879, 890 (D.C.Cal.2004). Something doesn’t become [expert] knowledge just because it’s uttered by a[n expert]; nor can an expert’s self-serving assertion that his conclusions were derived by the [proper, reliable] method be deemed conclusive. Daubert II, at 1315-16. “[T]he expert’s bald assurance of validity is not enough. Rather, the party presenting the expert must show that the expert’s findings [have a sound basis], and this will require some objective, independent validation of the expert’s methodology.” Id. at 1316.
605 F.Supp.2d at 1153-54 ; see also Daubert, 509 U.S. at 590 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 (“[T]he word ‘knowledge’ connotes more than subjective belief or unsupported speculation. The term ‘applies to any body of known facts or to any body of ideas inferred from such facts or accepted as truths on good grounds.’ ”) (quoting Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1252 (1986)); see also Redlightning, 624 F.3d at 1112 (“Because [social science expert] did not reasonably point to any evidence in the record or other factors or data reasonably relied on by experts in his field ... [he] could not provide any relevant testimony to assist the jury.”); United States v. W.R. Grace, 504 F.3d 745, 761 (9th Cir.2007) (facts and data relied on by expert must be reasonably relied on by experts in particular field).
As noted by the Ninth Circuit, “[t]he Supreme Court in Daubert identified several factors that may bear on a judge’s determination of the reliability of an expert’s testimony.” Smith & Nephew, Inc., 259 F.3d at 199 . They include:
... (1) whether a theory or technique can be or has been tested; (2) whether it has been subjected to peer review and *1140 publication[ 11 ]; (3) whether[, in the case of a scientific technique, the] technique has a high known or potential rate of error and whether there are standards controlling its operation; and (4) whether the theory or technique enjoys general acceptance within a relevant scientifie[, technical or specialized knowledge] community.[ 12 ]
Id. (citing Daubert, 509 U.S. at 592-94 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 ); see also Elsayed Mukhtar, 299 F.3d at 1064 . These factors are “neither definitive, nor exhaustive,” though, and “particular factors may or may not be pertinent in assessing reliability, depending on the nature of the issue, the expert’s particular expertise, and the subject of his testimony.” Smith & Nephew, Inc., 259 F.3d at 199-200 . The Daubert inquiry, furthermore, is “a flexible one,” with “[i]ts overarching subject” being the “validity” and, accordingly, the “evidentiary relevance and reliability—of the principles that underlie a proposed submission.” Daubert, 509 U.S. at 594-95 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 . The Court’s “focus” thus “must be solely on principles and methodology, not on the conclusions that they generate.” Id. at 595 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 .
Such focus entails an “assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying” the expert witness testimony is “valid and of whether that reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue.” Daubert, 509 U.S. at 592 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 . In addition to the four factors identified by the Supreme Court in Daubert, another “very significant” factor to be considered is whether the proffered expert witness developed his or her opinion “expressly for the purpose of testifying.” Cabrera, 134 F.3d at 1422 (citation omitted). As the Ninth Circuit has described it:
One very significant fact to be considered is whether the experts are proposing to testify about matters growing naturally and directly out of research they have conducted independent of the litigation, or whether they have developed their opinions expressly for purposes of testifying. That an expert testifies for money does not necessarily cast doubt on the reliability of his testimony, as few experts appear in court merely as an eleemosynary gesture. But in determining whether proposed expert testimony amounts to good science [or meets the similar standard employed in the area of specialized knowledge or expertise of the proposed expert], we may not ignore the fact that a scientist’s [or other technical or specialized expert’s] normal workplace is the lab or the field, not the courtroom or the lawyer’s office.
That an expert testifies based on research he has conducted independent of the litigation provides important, objective proof that the research comports with the dictates of good science [or meets the similar standard employed in the area of specialized knowledge or expertise of the expert]____For one thing, experts whose findings flow from existing research are less likely to have been *1141 biased toward a particular conclusion by the promise of remuneration; when an expert prepares reports and findings before being hired as a witness, that record will limit the degree to which he can tailor his testimony to serve a party’s interests. Then, too, independent research carries its own indicia of reliability, as it is conducted, so to speak, in the usual course of business and must normally satisfy a variety of standards to attract funding and institutional support____ That the testimony proffered by an expert is based directly on legitimate, preexisting research unrelated to the litigation provides the most persuasive basis for concluding that the opinions he expresses were “derived by the scientific method [or other method generally accepted in the particular area of specialized knowledge or expertise].”
Daubert II, 43 F.3d at 1317 (internal footnote and citation omitted).
B. Dr. Milyo’s Opinions Do Not Satisfy the Relevancy and Reliability Requirements Mandated by Daubert and Fed.R.Evid. 702
In regard to the opinions provided by Dr. Milyo in his declaration and report, the Court finds they do not meet the relevancy and reliability requirements mandated by Fed.R.Evid. 702 and the Supreme Court in Daubert. First, Dr. Milyo himself admits that none of the empirical research he conducted prior to this litigation involved Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying or RCW Chapter 42.17 in general. See ECF #22, Milyo Declaration, ¶¶ 14, 74, and Milyo Report, p. 14. Indeed, grassroots lobbying and the impact of public disclosure thereon—even in a general sense—was not a subject of Dr. Milyo’s research, but rather that subject was the ability of citizen groups to comply with state disclosure forms from other states concerning the ability to engage in ballot measure campaigns. See id.; ECF #27-2, Deposition of Jeffrey Milyo (“Milyo Deposition”), pp. 168-69. Dr. Milyo asserts his earlier research is relevant, because the states in which he conducted his research, as in Washington, require registration, contribution itemization and reporting of expenditures. See ECF # 22, Milyo Declaration, ¶¶ 14, 74, and Milyo Report, p. 14.
The mere fact that other states require registration, itemization and expenditure reporting as well, however, hardly constitutes the type of link to the particular facts of this case required by Daubert. Indeed, Dr. Milyo utterly fails to show that the laws in the other states he researched are the same as the disclosure laws at issue here, let alone that they have been implemented and enforced in the same way as RCW Chapter 42.17 is by the PDC. 13 The *1142 Court thus finds that without more—indeed, anything—in the way of evidence connecting that research to the specific facts of this case, it has no relevance. That is, his research is entirely unhelpful in understanding or determining the pertinent issues currently before the Court, let alone “logically advancing” a material aspect of plaintiffs’ case.
Reliability is lacking here as well. First, it is not at all clear that Dr. Milyo’s research has been subject to “peer review” as that term is generally understood, but rather it seems not to have undergone that type of academic scrutiny. 14 IJ also paid Dr. Milyo $2,500 for the report that he produced for this litigation. 15 See Milyo Declaration, ¶ 2. In addition, on the same day plaintiffs’ civil rights complaint was filed with this Court, another “policy report” Dr. Milyo prepared for IJ, titled Mowing Down the Grassroots: How Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure Laws Suppress Political Participation, was “publicly issued” by IJ. ECF # 31-1, Defendants’ First Set of Requests for Admission Nos. 47-49. IJ paid Dr. Milyo for preparing that report as well. See id. at No. 49. At the time Dr. Milyo was working on that latter report, furthermore, he was aware that IJ was engaged in “what some groups call strategic research,” i.e., research to help “support future litigation.” ECF # 27-1, Milyo Deposition, pp. 30-31.
Accordingly, it appears not only was Dr. Milyo paid for preparing a non-peer reviewed report for the purpose of aiding this litigation—as well as for the earlier research he conducted underlying that report—but he was involved in preparing, again for payment, similar research of an apparent “strategic” nature issued contemporaneously with the filing of this lawsuit, 16 which clearly does not enhance the reliability of Dr. Milyo’s opinions. It also *1143 is far from clear that Dr. Milyo’s opinions enjoy “general acceptance within” his academic discipline. For example, Dr. Milyo uses the term “grass roots issue advocacy” instead of “grass roots lobbying,” claiming the former term is a more accurate description of the type of activity contemplated by the latter term. See, e.g., EOF # 22, Milyo Declaration, ¶¶ 4-6, 27-36, 40-41.
Dr. Milyo admits, though, that “grass roots issue advocacy” is a term he himself came up with, and that he has not seen that term used by anyone else. See EOF #27-2, Milyo Deposition, pp. 143-45. In addition, there is some indication in the record that in supporting the opinions contained in his declaration and report, Dr. Milyo may have relied as much on what he terms “common sense,” the “general sense” of a term used or the “logical implication” of regulation of grassroots lobbying by the state, as he may have on scholarly or academic research conducted in a manner generally accepted in his field. See id. at p. 155, 164-65, 178, 187. Dr. Milyo makes other assertions in his report as well, which appear not to be supported either by his own or such other research. See id. at pp. 176-78.
Admission of Dr. Milyo’s declaration and report is inappropriate for another important reason. While “expert testimony that is ‘otherwise admissible is not objectionable because it embraces an ultimate issue to be decided by the trier of fact,’ ” that witness may not provide an opinion as to a “legal conclusion, i.e., an opinion on an ultimate issue of law.” Mukhtar, 299 F.3d at 1065 , n. 10 (quoting Fed.R.Evid. 702) (emphasis in original); see also McHugh v. United Serv. Auto. Ass’n, 164 F.3d 451, 454 (9th Cir.1999); United States v. Duncan, 42 F.3d 97, 101 (2nd Cir.1994) (“When an expert undertakes to tell the [trier of fact] what result to reach, this does not aid the [trier of fact] in making a decision, but rather attempts to substitute the expert’s judgment for the [trier of fact’s].”) (emphasis in original). In other words, such legal conclusions are the province of the Court, not the expert witness.
As the Ninth Circuit has noted:
It is well settled that the judge instructs the jury in the law. Experts “interpret and analyze factual evidence. They do not testify about the law because the judge’s special legal knowledge is presumed to be sufficient, and it is the judge’s duty to inform the jury about the law that is relevant to their deliberations.”
United States v. Scholl, 166 F.3d 964, 973 (9th Cir.1999), as amended (citations omitted); see also Aguilar v. International Longshoremen’s Union, 966 F.2d 443, 447 (9th Cir.1992) (matters of law are for court’s determination, not that of expert witness); Marx & Co. v. Diners’ Club, Inc., 550 F.2d 505, 509-10 (2nd cir.1977) (expert testimony consisting of legal conclusions is inadmissible); Bonin v. Calderon, 59 F.3d 815, 838 (9th Cir.1995) (because Fed.R.Evid. 702 permits expert testimony if it will assist trier of fact, and because district court is qualified to assess likely responses of jury to evidence and understand legal analysis required in that case, there was no abuse of discretion in district court concluding juror psychology expert would not be helpful). Here, by concluding Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying are vague and overbroad, and thereby chill protected First Amendment speech, Dr. Milyo’s declaration and report impermissibly offers legal conclusions that more appropriately come within the province of this Court. See Milyo Declaration, ¶¶ 52, 91-92, Exhibit A. Thus, for all of the above reasons, the Court finds that Dr. Milyo’s declaration and report should be excluded *1144 from consideration in this case, because they fail to meet the relevance and reliability requirements of Daubert and Fed. R.Evid. 702, and because they improperly contain legal conclusions.
C. Plaintiffs’ Exhibit 12 Constitutes Neither Relevant Evidence Nor Admissible Expert Witness Testimony
As for the article attached to plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion as Exhibit 12, titled Mandatory Disclosure for Ballot-Initiative Campaigns, this too the Court finds should be excluded from consideration. Defendants argue this article should be excluded on the basis that it is not evidence. The Court agrees. See Black’s Law Dictionary (9th ed. 2009) (defining evidence as being “[something ... that tends to prove or disprove the existence of an alleged fact.”). Certainly, the article is not relevant evidence, as it does not “make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of th[is] action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence,” particularly since it does not concern the subject of this lawsuit, namely Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying. Fed.R.Evid. 401; see also Fed.R.Evid. 402 (“Evidence which is not relevant is not admissible.”). 17
III. Plaintiffs Lack Standing
A. Article IPs Case and Controversy Requirement
“[T]he Constitution mandates that prior to [the Court’s] exercise of jurisdiction there exist a constitutional ‘case or controversy,’ that the issues presented [to the Court] are ‘definite and concrete, not hypothetical or abstract.’ ” Human Life, 624 F.3d at 1000 (quoting Thomas v. Anchorage Equal Rights Comm’n, 220 F.3d 1134 , 1138 (9th Cir.2000) (en banc) (quoting Ry. Mail Ass’n v. Corsi 326 U.S. 88, 93 , 65 S.Ct. 1483 , 89 L.Ed. 2072 (1945))); see also Arizona Right to Life Political Action Committee v. Bayless (“ARLPAC”), 320 F.3d 1002, 1006 (9th Cir.2003) (“Under Article III [of the United States Constitution], a federal court only has jurisdiction to hear claims that present an actual ‘case or controversy.’ ”) (quoting Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 750 , 104 S.Ct. 3315 , 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984)). As such, “before reaching the merits of plaintiffs’ constitutional claims,” the Court “must determine whether [those claims are] justiciable.” Human Life, 624 F.3d at 1000 ; see also American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada v. Lomax, 471 F.3d 1010, 1015 (9th Cir.2006) (although neither party raised justiciability issue of standing, court had “an ‘independent obligation’ to consider [it] sua sponte.”) (citations omitted).
While standing is determined by the facts in existence at the time the complaint is filed, “Article Ill’s ‘case-or-controversy requirement subsists through all stages of federal judicial proceedings,’ ” and therefore “ ‘[i]t is not enough that a dispute was very much alive when suit was filed.’ ” Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 461 , 127 S.Ct. 2652 , 168 L.Ed.2d 329 (2007) (quoting Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp., 494 U.S. 472, 477 , 110 S.Ct. 1249 , 108 L.Ed.2d 400 (1990)); Lomax, 471 F.3d at 1015 . Thus, at the outset, plaintiffs “must establish standing to sue” to satisfy the case or controversy requirement. Hu *1145 man Life, 624 F.3d at 1000 . That is, they must show they have “suffered a constitutionally cognizable injury-in-fact,” or, in other words, “some threatened or actual injury resulting from the putatively illegal action.” California Pro-Life Council, Inc. v. Getman (“CPLC-I”), 328 F.3d 1088, 1093 (9th Cir.2003); see also Human Life, 624 F.3d at 1000 ; 1805 Convoy, Inc. v. City of San Diego, 183 F.3d 1108, 1111 (9th Cir.1999) (quoting Virginia v. American Booksellers Ass’n, Inc., 484 U.S. 383, 392 , 108 S.Ct. 636 , 98 L.Ed.2d 782 (1988)); Doucette v. City of Santa Monica, 955 F.Supp. 1192, 1198-99 (C.D.Cal.1997) (party that fails to meet Article III requirements may not litigate in federal courts) (citing Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464, 475-76 , 102 S.Ct. 752 , 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982)).
“To meet this requirement,” though, “[a]bstract injury is not enough.” 4805 Convoy, Inc., 183 F.3d at 1111 . Instead, plaintiffs must show they have sustained or they are “immediately in danger of sustaining some direct injury as the result of the challenged official conduct and the injury or threat of injury must be both real and immediate, not conjectural or hypothetical.” Id. at 1111-1112 ; see also ARLPAC, 320 F.3d at 1006 (there must be “a realistic danger of sustaining a direct injury as a result of the statute’s operation or enforcement”) (quoting Babbitt v. United Farm Workers Nat'l Union, 442 U.S. 289, 298 , 99 S.Ct. 2301 , 60 L.Ed.2d 895 (1979)). Further, in the “context of injunctive and declaratory relief,” plaintiffs must show they have suffered or are threatened with “a ‘concrete and particularized’ legal harm, ... coupled with ‘a sufficient likelihood that [they] will again be wronged in a similar way.’ ” Canatella v. State of California, 304 F.3d 843, 852 (9th Cir.2002) (quoting Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 , 112 S.Ct. 2130 , 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992), and City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 111 , 103 S.Ct. 1660 , 75 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983)).
On the other hand, “[o]ne does not have to await the consummation of threatened injury to obtain preventive relief.” ARLPAC, 320 F.3d at 1006 (quoting Reg’l Rail Reorg. Act Cases, 419 U.S. 102, 143 , 95 S.Ct. 335 , 42 L.Ed.2d 320 (1974)). Instead:
... [I]t is “sufficient for standing purposes that the plaintiff intends to engage in ‘a course of conduct arguably affected with a constitutional interest’ and that there is a credible threat that the challenged provision will be invoked against the plaintiff.”
Id. (quoting LSO, Ltd. v. Stroh, 205 F.3d 1146, 1154-55 (9th Cir.2000) (quoting Babbitt, 442 U.S. at 298 , 99 S.Ct. 2301 )); see also Canatella, 304 F.3d at 852 . But because the Court’s role is not to “issue advisory opinions” or to “declare rights in hypothetical cases,” the case or controversy requirement also necessitates that constitutional claims “be ripe for review.” Human Life, 624 F.3d at 1000 (quoting Thomas, 220 F.3d at 1138). 18 “[A] case is *1146 not ripe where the existence of the dispute itself hangs on future contingencies that may or may not occur.” Porter v. Jones, 319 F.3d 483, 491 (9th Cir.2003) (citation omitted). The Court, more specifically, is to determine “the ripeness of a [constitutional] claim by asking whether the issues are fit for judicial decision and whether the parties will suffer hardship if [the Court] decline[s] to consider the issues.” Canatella, 304 F.3d at 854 . “In the context of pre-enforcement constitutional challenges,” furthermore, where the party making the challenge “has not yet been penalized for violating the challenged statute, ... ‘neither the mere existence of a prescriptive statute nor a generalized threat of prosecution satisfies ‘the case or controversy’ requirement.’ ” Human Life, 624 F.3d at 1000 (quoting Thomas, 220 F.3d at 1139).
Additionally, in general plaintiffs “must assert [their] own legal rights and interests, and cannot rest [their] claim[s] to relief on the legal rights or interests of third parties.” 4805 Convoy, Inc., 183 F.3d at 1112 (quoting Secretary of State of Maryland v. Joseph H. Munson Co., 467 U.S. 947, 955 , 104 S.Ct. 2839 , 81 L.Ed.2d 786 (1984)); see also Joseph H. Munson Co., 467 U.S. at 955 , 104 S.Ct. 2839 (requirement that only one’s own legal rights and interests may be asserted described as “prudential considerations that limit the challenges courts are willing to hear,” which are “[i]n addition to the limitations on standing imposed by Article Ill’s case- or-controversy requirement”). Accordingly, “the federal courts have supplemented this requirement of ‘constitutional standing’ [under Article III], with the doctrine of ‘prudential standing,’ which requires [courts] to ask whether [plaintiffs’] claim is sufficiently individualized to ensure effective judicial review.” Get Outdoors II, LLC v. City of San Diego, California (“Get Outdoors II”), 506 F.3d 886, 891 (9th Cir. 2007) (“We employ the prudential standing doctrine to avoid usurping the legislature’s role as policymaking body in our separation of powers [framework].”).
Further, in addition to demonstrating “an injury-in-fact,” the “irreducible constitutional minimum of standing” requires plaintiffs to establish both “causation” and “a likelihood that the injury will be redressed by a decision in” their favor. Get Outdoors II, 506 F.3d at 891 (citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61 , 112 S.Ct. 2130 , 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992)); CPLC-I, 328 F.3d at 1093 (quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560-61 , 112 S.Ct. 2130 ); see also Canatella, 304 F.3d at 852 (plaintiff generally demonstrates standing by showing injury in fact traceable to challenged action and redressable by favorable decision). 19 However, as noted above, “neither the mere existence of a proscriptive statute nor a generalized threat of prosecution” is sufficient to satisfy the case or controversy requirement. CPLC-I, 328 F.3d at 1094 (quoting Thomas, 220 F.3d at 1139). “Rather, a plaintiff must face a ‘genuine threat of imminent prosecution.’ ” Id. “In evaluating the genuineness of a claimed threat of prosecution,” the following factors are considered: (1) whether plaintiffs “have articulated a *1147 ‘concrete plan’ to violate the law in question”; (2) “whether the prosecuting authorities have communicated a specific warning or threat to initiate proceedings”; and (3) “the history of past prosecution or enforcement under the challenged statute.” Id.
Lastly, Article Ill’s case or controversy requirement also may implicate the mootness doctrine. “Whereas standing is evaluated by the facts that existed when the complaint was filed, ‘[m]ootness inquiries ... require courts to look to changing circumstances that arise after the complaint is filed.’ ” Lomax, 471 F.3d at 1016 (citations omitted); see also City of Erie v. Pap’s AM., 529 U.S. 277, 287 , 120 S.Ct. 1382 , 146 L.Ed.2d 265 (2000) (if “live” controversy no longer exists, claim is moot). Thus, “[t]he question of mootness focuses upon whether [the Court] can still grant relief between the parties.” Lomax, 471 F.3d at 1016 -17 (quoting Dream Palace v. County of Maricopa, 384 F.3d 990, 999-1000 (9th Cir. 2004)). There is a recognized exception to the mootness doctrine, though, where a claim has been found to be “capable of repetition, yet evading review.” Id. at 1017 (quoting First Nat’l Bank of Boston v. Bellotti 435 U.S. 765, 774 , 98 S.Ct. 1407 , 55 L.Ed.2d 707 (1978)). This exception “applies when (1) the challenged action is too short in duration to allow full litigation before it ceases, and (2) there is a reasonable expectation that the plaintiffs will again be subject to the same action.” Id. (citing Bellota 435 U.S. at 774 , 98 S.Ct. 1407 ); see also Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. at 462 , 127 S.Ct. 2652 .
As for the first of the above two elements, “a challenged action evades review if it is ‘almost certain to run its course before [the Court] can give the case full consideration.’” Lomax, 471 F.3d at 1017 (quoting Miller ex rel. NLRB v. Cal. Pac. Med. Ctr., 19 F.3d 449, 454 (9th Cir. 1994)). “The second prong of the ‘capable of repetition’ exception” requires that there be a “reasonable expectation” or “demonstrated probability” that “the same controversy will recur involving the same complaining party.” Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. at 463 , 127 S.Ct. 2652 (quoting Murphy v. Hunt, 455 U.S. 478, 482 , 102 S.Ct. 1181 , 71 L.Ed.2d 353 (1982) (“Our cases find the same controversy sufficiently likely to recur when a party has a reasonable expectation that it ‘will again be subjected to the alleged illegality,’ ... or “will be subject to the threat of prosecution’ under the challenged law.”) (quoting Lyons, 461 U.S. at 109 , 103 S.Ct. 1660 and Bellotti 435 U.S. at 774-775 , 98 S.Ct. 1407 )); see also Lomax, 471 F.3d at 1018 (challenging party must show it is reasonable to expect action by challenged party “will once again give rise to the assertedly moot dispute”) (citation omitted).
B. Standing in the First Amendment Context
“[I]n recognition that that Amendment ‘needs breathing space,’ the Supreme Court has relaxed the prudential requirement of standing in the First Amendment context.” Canatella, 304 F.3d at 853 (quoting and citing Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 611-12 , 93 S.Ct. 2908 , 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973), and Joseph H. Munson Co., 467 U.S. at 947-56 , 104 S.Ct. 2839 ). Under the “overbreadth” doctrine, “an overly broad statute or regulation” may be challenged “by showing that it may inhibit the First Amendment rights of individuals who are not before the court.” 4805 Convoy, Inc., 183 F.3d at 1112 . This doctrine “is based on the observation that ‘the very existence of some broadly written laws has the potential to chill the expressive activity of others not before the court.’ ” Id. (quoting Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement, 505 U.S. 123, 129 , 112 S.Ct. 2395 , 120 L.Ed.2d 101 (1992)), *1148 and citing Lind v. Grimmer, 30 F.3d 1115, 1122 (9th Cir.1994) (doctrine designed to avert potential chilling effect on speech). As the Ninth Circuit has explained:
... [Standing arises “not because [the plaintiffs] own rights of free expression are violated, but because of a judicial prediction or assumption that the [challenged statute’s] very existence may cause others not before the court to refrain from constitutionally protected speech or expression.” ...
Canatella, 304 F.3d at 853 . (quoting Broadrick, 413 U.S. at 612 , 93 S.Ct. 2908 ).
The overbreadth doctrine thus “serves to overcome what would otherwise be a plaintiffs lack of standing.” 4805 Convoy, Inc., 183 F.3d at 1112 (citation omitted). Nevertheless, in determining whether overbreadth standing exists, the issue of whether the plaintiff “satisfies the requirement of ‘injury-in-fact’ ” remains “the crucial issue.” Id. (quoting Joseph H. Munson Co., 467 U.S. at 958 , 104 S.Ct. 2839 ). As such, “to demonstrate standing for an overbreadth claim,” a plaintiff must show “he [or she] and others in his [or her] position face a credible threat of discipline under the challenged statutes, and may consequently forego their expressive rights under the First Amendment.” Canatella, 304 F.3d at 854 (since plaintiff alleged “concrete and particularized harms to his First Amendment rights,” and had demonstrated “a sufficient likelihood that he and others may face similar harm in the future,” this showing was deemed to be “enough to satisfy the prudential requirements of standing for a First Amendment overbreadth claim.”) (emphasis added). As the Ninth Circuit has further explained:
[The] slender [overbreadth] exception to the prudential limits on standing ... does not affect the rigid constitutional requirement that plaintiffs must demonstrate an injury in fact to invoke a federal court’s jurisdiction. Rather, the exception only allows those who have suffered some cognizable injury, but whose conduct is not protected under the First Amendment, to assert the constitutional rights of others.
4805 Convoy, Inc., 183 F.3d at 1112 (citation omitted); see also Bigelow v. Virginia, 421 U.S. 809, 816-17 , 95 S.Ct. 2222 , 44 L.Ed.2d 600 (1975) (plaintiff “must present more than allegations of a subjective chill,” rather “[t]here must be a claim of specific present objective harm or a threat of specific future harm”) (quoting Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1, 13-14 , 92 S.Ct. 2318 , 33 L.Ed.2d 154 (1972)). Accordingly, the requirement remains that “[t]he potential plaintiff ... have ‘an actual and well-founded fear that the law will be enforced against [him or her].’ ” CPLC-I, 328 F.3d at 1095 (quoting American Booksellers Ass’n, Inc., 484 U.S. at 393 , 108 S.Ct. 636 ); see also Get Outdoors II, 506 F.3d at 891 (plaintiff still required to show injury in fact when raising claim of overbreadth); ARLPAC, 320 F.3d at 1006 .
“Without this bare minimum of standing, the overbreadth exception would nullify the notion of standing generally in First Amendment litigation.” Get Outdoors II, 506 F.3d at 891 ; see also Doucette, 955 F.Supp. at 1199 (even plaintiff bringing facial challenge on First Amendment overbreadth grounds has standing only if he or she is able to establish some actual or threatened injury to himself or herself). As one district court has succinctly described what must be shown here:
Where a plaintiff argues that he is harmed by the chilling of his speech, he is still “required to show that he is seriously interested in subjecting himself to, and the defendant seriously intent on enforcing, the challenged measure.” NAACP v. City of Richmond, 743 F.2d 1346 , 1351 (9th Cir.1984). As a result, *1149 “[ajllegations of a subjective ‘chill’ are not an adequate substitute for a claim of specific present objective harm or a threat of specific future harm.” Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1, 13-14 , 92 S.Ct. 2318, 2325-26 , 33 L.Ed.2d 154 (1972). “Rather, to establish standing in this manner, a plaintiff must proffer some objective evidence to substantiate his claim that the challenged [statutory provision] has deterred him from engaging in protected activity.” Bordell [v. General Elec. Co.], 922 F.2d [1057,] 1061 [ (2nd Cir.1991) ]. The question is how likely it is that the government will attempt to use the challenged provisions against the plaintiff, not merely how much the prospect of enforcement worries the plaintiff. See American Library Ass’n v. Barr, 956 F.2d 1178, 1193 (D.C.Cir.1992).
Doucette, 955 F.Supp. at 1199-1200 . However, where the plaintiff fails “to allege even a desire to engage in [protected] conduct or speech,” that party “lacks standing even if he [or she] alleges that his [or her] speech has been chilled.” Id. at 1200 . Important to determining whether the requisite evidentiary showing has been made, therefore, will be the plaintiffs “history” with the challenged statute or body charged with enforcing it, as well as his or her “continuing activities.” Canatella, 304 F.3d at 854 n. 14.
On the other hand, in terms of the type of injury needed to be shown, “the Supreme Court has endorsed what might be called a ‘hold your tongue and challenge now5 approach rather than requiring litigants to speak first and take their chances with the consequences.” ARLPAC, 320 F.3d at 1006 (quoting Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 U.S. 479, 486 , 85 S.Ct. 1116 , 14 L.Ed.2d 22 (1965)). “[W]here a plaintiff has refrained from engaging in expressive activity for fear of prosecution under the challenged statute, such self-censorship is a ‘constitutionally sufficient injury’ as long as it is based on ‘an actual and well-founded fear’ that the challenged statute will be enforced.” Human Life, 624 F.3d at 1001 (citations omitted); see also ARLPAC, 320 F.3d at 1006 (“[o]ne does not have to await consumption of threatened injury to obtain preventive relief’) (quoting Reg’l Rail Reorg. Cases, 419 U.S. at 143 , 95 S.Ct. 335 ). Still, “[t]he self-censorship door to standing does not open for every plaintiff,” and, as noted above, a challenging party will not succeed merely by “nakedly asserting that his or her speech [has been] chilled.” CPLC-I, 328 F.3d at 1095; see also Canatella, 304 F.3d at 854 n. 14 (challenged statute’s mere existence is not enough to give rise to injury sufficient for standing purposes).
C. Plaintiffs Have Failed to Allege Concrete and Particularized Harms
Plaintiffs argue they “unquestionably have standing to present their claims,” because they have “muted their speech, modified the content of their messages, and altered their behavior all in an attempt to avoid triggering [Washington’s] registration and disclosure requirements.” ECF #35, pp. 1-2. They argue “[a]bsent a decision by this Court striking down” those requirements, they “will continue to silence their speech, modify their intended communications, and alter their behavior.” Id. Specifically, in an attempt to avoid “triggering” Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying, plaintiffs assert:
• CE has: changed “the message it communicates to the public”; “stopped urging the public to contact legislators in support of lowering taxes and shrinking the size of government”; ensured “that invited speakers refrain from making a public ‘call to action’ on these and similar state issues”; “refrained from petitioning and lobbying activity as it had previously planned”; “tailored its message to ‘avoid charac *1150 terizing certain activities as a campaign’ “slowed its outreach and development plans”; “brought in fewer participants”; “put its formal fundraising plans on hold”; “created spreadsheets to carefully track expenditures made in support of its state activities”; and avoided “spending more than $500 in a given month to advance its legislative and policy goals”.
• MCOM has: “changed the message it communicates to the public”; avoided “urging the public to contact legislators in support of eminent domain reform to avoid triggering the definition of ‘lobbying’”; “deliberately ‘ratchet[ed] down’ its activities”; and “looked for ways to ‘fly under the radar or not fall within—or get caught up within’ the requirements of the law[s governing grassroots lobbying].”
Id. at pp. 3^4. Plaintiffs also assert that “[a] corporation that had pledged money in support of CE refused to donate after learning that its name, support of CE, and amount of donation might be disclosed to and made public by the PDC,” and that but for Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying:
• MCOM would: (1) “actively distribute fliers, organize community meetings, and contact government officials in an effort to support reforms of Washington’s ... CRL ... and eminent domain laws and to oppose ... TOD ... ”; (2) “not track expenditures made in support of its activities”; and (3) “spend more than $500 in a given month to advance its legislative and policy goals.”
Id. at p. 4. Plaintiffs further assert that it was reasonable for them to modify their activities and that they have a well-founded fear of being subject to enforcement action by the PDC, given that the PDC has made clear RCW Chapter 42.17 will be enforced if it or any other organization fails to comply with the requirements thereof. Id. at pp. 4-5.
The problem for plaintiffs, however, is that they have not presented sufficient objective evidence of the requisite specificity to establish standing in this case. As discussed above, the factors the Court must consider in determining whether the case and controversy requirement has been met include whether the challenging party has “articulated a ‘concrete plan’ to violate the law in question,” as well as “the history of past prosecution or enforcement under the challenged statute.” CPLC-I, 328 F.3d at 1094. Even under the more relaxed standing requirements in the First Amendment context, “concrete and particularized harms” still must be alleged with the requisite specificity. Canatella, 304 F.3d at 853 ; see also Bigelow, 421 U.S. at 816-17 , 95 S.Ct. 2222 (claim of specific present objective or future harm must be made); Doucette, 955 F.Supp. at 1199 (plaintiff “still ‘required to show that he is seriously interested in subjecting himself to ... the challenged measure’ ”) (quoting NAACP, 743 F.2d at 1351) (emphasis added).
Neither MCOM nor CE, however, have shown through their “history” either with RCW Chapter 42.17 or the PDC itself—such as, for example, being subject to enforcement action or prosecution by the PDC under those statutes—through their “continuing activities” or through the articulation of any “concrete plan” to actually violate RCW Chapter 42.17, the type of actual or threatened injury the case and controversy requirement demands. Also as noted above, RCW 42.17.200 is concerned solely with grassroots lobbying aimed at affecting state legislation. But neither MCOM nor CE has provided any evidence they have engaged in any actual past activity, are engaging in any current activity or have an articulated, concrete *1151 plan to affect such legislation—or are even seriously interested doing so—in the future.
For example, MCOM has focused on resisting eminent domain efforts at the local level. See ECF # 1, ¶¶ 10, 29, 31. Indeed, MCOM itself admits that in the past it has not been required to register and report under RCW 42.17.200, because of its focus on efforts made by the City of Seattle. See id. at ¶ 32. Further, while plaintiffs point to proposed state legislation introduced in the years 2006 through 2009, regarding eminent domain, CRL and TOD as being areas of concern for MCOM, they have not alleged or pointed to any evidence that MCOM actually was engaged in affecting such legislation during this period. See Id. at ¶¶ 33-36. Plaintiffs also claim MCOM “anticipated the need” for and “intended to mobilize grassroots activism” in regard to similar proposed legislation in 2010—which failed to be enacted, but apparently not because of any efforts on MCOM’s part—but once more cannot point to any evidence of actual mobilization activities on their part. See id. at ¶¶ 37-38.
CE’s past and present activities have been and are even less specifically oriented toward affecting past, current or proposed state legislation than those of MCOM. Thus, for example, CE claims it is “dedicated to educating the public about the benefits of lower taxes, less regulation, and smaller government,” and in the past has spoken with elected officials, established a public website and hosted monthly meetings and speakers about “public policy issues.” Id. at ¶¶ 11, 58. No showing has been made, however, as to the extent, if any, such activities have been or are directed toward state—as opposed to federal or local levels of government—the latter two of which clearly are not governed by RCW 42.17.200. In addition, CE admits it has never met that statute’s monetary thresholds triggering coverage thereunder. See id. at ¶ 56.
MCOM’s anticipated future activities are similarly devoid of the necessary specificity to reasonably qualify as an articulated, concrete plan to violate RCW 42.17.200. See id. at ¶¶ 40-45. In particular, while MCOM states it anticipates future legislation to be introduced concerning eminent domain, CRL and TOD—and thus “would like to create fliers, organize and hold public meetings, send email blasts, organize trips to [the Washington State capital], speak to the press, and explicitly urge the public to contact their legislators to support” reform in those areas—again they have not identified any particular legislative proposal they are targeting, any actual efforts they have undertaken so far to do so (even ones that may fly under the radar of RCW 42.17.200) or any “concrete” plan in that regard, other than the mere fact that they “would like” to do so. ECF #35, p. 8. Similarly deficient claims of future desired activities are made by CE concerning anticipated “legislation seeking to raise taxes, grow the size of state government, and increase regulatory burdens.” 20 Id. at p. 9.
Plaintiffs claim that in early 2011, Washington State’s Office of the Attorney General requested the help of MCOM representatives in mobilizing “community support for legislation reforming” the state’s eminent domain laws. ECF #35-2, ¶9. But none of the documentary evidence *1152 provided by plaintiffs to support this claim actually does so. See ECF # 40, Declaration of Jeanette M. Petersen, Email Correspondence Regarding Testimony in Support of Attorney General Eminent Domain Legislation. 21 To the extent any MCOM representative did participate in efforts to reform state eminent domain legislation, furthermore, such participation appears to have occurred for the most part in early November 2008, and even then largely in the capacity of witnesses testifying in regard to how eminent domain has affected them both as individual home owners and as residents of Seattle. 22 See ECF # 38, Declaration of Tim Ford, ¶¶ 2-7, 9, 13-14, Minutes of November 7, 2008 Meeting of Eminent Domain Task Force, pp. 2-3.
Citing American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada v. Heller, 378 F.3d 979 (9th Cir.2004), plaintiffs argue the level of specificity this Court finds they must show to establish standing is simply not required. Plaintiffs’ reliance on Heller , though, is misplaced. Specifically, the Ninth Circuit found the plaintiff in that case had standing to bring its First Amendment over-breadth claim, as the plaintiffs complaint alleged the challenged statute had “already prohibited and continue[d] to restrict” its protected speech, and provided “examples of such restrictions.” Id. at 983-84 (noting further plaintiffs complaint identified specific proposed legislation it intended to engage in, and produced evidence that one of its members had been “prosecuted for violations” of statute in question). As discussed above, plaintiffs have made no such showing in this ease.
Plaintiffs have not presented the Court with any other Ninth Circuit—or Supreme Court—case holding that it is sufficient to merely allege a general desire or plan to engage in activities that are likely to implicate the challenged statute, without any history of having previously done so, evidence of actually currently doing so or an articulated, concrete plan to do so in the future. Rather, Ninth Circuit case law— including Heller—appears to require the opposite showing. For example, the plaintiff in Human Life “[o]ver the years ... ha[d] expended considerable time and resources opposing efforts to legalize physician-assisted suicide”—which was the subject of the specific ballot initiative it sought to oppose—and had undertaken “plans to solicit funds for and launch a public education campaign” consisting of “three proposed public communications,” including distribution of a “solicitation letter” already drafted, targeting of individual voters by telephone using planned scripts (again already written), and the broadcasting of “four proposed scripts for thirty- *1153 second radio spots” (once more already planned). 624 F.3d at 995-96 . On this basis, the Ninth Circuit found standing existed. See id. at 1000-02 (noting “[the plaintiff was] a politically active organization that ha[d] been heavily involved in public debates about pro-life issues in the past and intended] to undertake future communications like those it wished to make in conjunction with the [specific ballot initiative it sought to oppose]”).
In Lomax , standing was found to exist where the plaintiffs, in anticipating the upcoming election, had “circulated a petition to place [an initiative] on the ballot,” which they submitted to the state’s Secretary of State for determination as to whether that initiative qualified to be placed on that ballot (which it did not, because it was found to have failed to comply with a state rule on acquiring signatures). 471 F.3d at 1012 . While the election had passed by the time the case came before the Ninth Circuit for consideration, plaintiffs claim challenging that rule was determined to fall within the capable of repetition, yet evading review exception to the mootness doctrine, as it was reasonable to expect the plaintiff would again be subject to the above state rule. See id. at 1013 . Once more, the demonstrated history of violating the particular state law at issue shown in Lomax has not been established by plaintiffs’ in this case.
As in Human Life, the plaintiff in CPLC-I—which “frequently” took “a position” on state propositions relating to abortion and assisted suicide—was found to have standing to challenge the state’s campaign disclosure laws. 328 F.3d at 1091-95. “Among its many activities,” it was noted that the plaintiff published “voter guides” that reported “the positions of some federal and most statewide candidates on abortion-related topics,” and urged “readers to vote for or against certain ballot initiatives that eoncern[ed] abortions or related subjects.” Id. at 1092. The plaintiff also “introduced evidence ... that it planned to spend more than” the threshold spending amount in regard to a state initiative on the ballot during the 2000 general election, which would trigger the state reporting and disclosure requirements. Id. at 1092-93.
In ARLPAC, the plaintiff to further its stated mission of educating the public in regard to issues such as abortion and euthanasia—“often [made] independent expenditures to express its support for or opposition to [political] candidates.” 320 F.3d at 1005 . While plaintiff had wanted to “disseminate advertising without providing twenty-four hour notice to candidates” as required by the state statute it was challenging, it “provided the [required] notice and delayed its speech both before the September 2000 primary election and subsequent elections.” Id. at 1006 . Thus, the Ninth Circuit found the plaintiff faced “actual harm” here, although it did not actually violate the statute and had never been subject to penalties for doing so. Id.
In Porter , one of the plaintiffs “in anticipation of the November 2000 national presidential election,” created a website that offered “general information about the electoral college, election predictions, and voting,” and it provided “a forum to allow individuals around the country to contact one another and discuss their political beliefs and strategies for the upcoming election.” 319 F.3d at 487 . The plaintiff soon learned, though, that California’s Secretary of State had sent the founders of another similar website a cease and desist letter, threatening them with criminal prosecution “for allegedly brokering the exchange of votes” in violation of state law. Id. at 487-88 . Although he himself had not received such a letter, because the plaintiff was “deeply afraid” of being similarly prosecuted, he suspended the opera *1154 tion of Ms own website. Id. at 488 . Since the plaintiff had “expressed his intent to create a similar website in future presidential elections,” other plaintiffs were likely to use that website and there was no indication the Secretary of State would not enforce the election laws against him, plaintiffs’ challenge to those laws were ripe, as well as capable of repetition, yet evading review. Id. at 488-90 .
Finally, in Canatella , while not involving a campaign or lobbying disclosure challenge, as noted above, the Ninth Circuit expressly noted that it was the plaintiffs “history” of disciplinary proceedings before the California State Bar and “his continuing activities as a zealous advocate,” as well as the nature of his challenge to the Bar’s statutes and rules of professional conduct, that led it “to conclude the requirements of standing” had been met. 304 F.3d at 854 n. 14. All of the cases just discussed thus make clear that at least some objective showing of having engaged in, of presently engaging in or of an articulated, concrete plan to engage in the type of activity that is the object of the challenged statute is required to establish standing, even under the more relaxed standards for First Amendment claims. As explained above, such a showing is simply absent in this case. Having so determined, the Court nevertheless shall go on to address in the alternative plaintiffs’ constitutional claims on their merits.
IV. Plaintiffs Constitutional Claims Are Without Merit
A. Plaintiffs’ Alleged Constitutional Harms
Plaintiffs allege the registration and reporting requirements contained in RCW 42.17.200 burden their free speech, in that they are “expensive, complex, and time-consuming” and as such, “interfere with, and chill [their] ability to ... engage in [anonymous] political speech.” ECF # 1, ¶ 82. Plaintiffs further allege those requirements violate their First Amendment “to associate with, and have individuals contribute to, their causes,” as well as the right of association of “any potential donors or volunteers who wish to support” those causes. Id. at ¶¶ 84, 86. In addition, plaintiffs claim the “dissemination of the information contained in [the reports they are required to file with the PDC], create the reasonable probability that [their] respective members will face threats, harassment, or reprisals if their names, addresses, and occupations were disclosed.” Id. at ¶ 85. Plaintiffs also claim the efforts they have made or anticipate having to make to avoid the registration and reporting requirements contained in RCW 42.17.200 such as limiting then-expenditures and changing their communications content-interfere with their right to exercise their “unfettered ability to craft their message.” Id. at ¶ 87; ECF # 35, pp. 2-4.
Plaintiffs, furthermore, allege the exemption of “media entities” and public officials in RCW 42.17.160 from the registration and reporting requirements contained in RCW 42.17.200, “discriminates against those citizens who do not fall into those categories and deprives” plaintiffs and others “of the equal protection of the laws.” 23 ECF # 1, ¶ 88. Plaintiffs allege as well those same registration and reporting requirements, and “the interaction” thereof with the exemptions contained in RCW 42.17.160, “result in regulations that are vague, overbroad, and deprive” them “of *1155 their right to receive fair notice of what the law requires.” Id. at ¶ 89. They claim the PDC’s “procedures for obtaining a formal declaration of the application of [RCW 42.17.200 and RCW 42.17.160] are lengthy and complex and do not allow [them] and others to receive a definitive statement regarding the application of such laws in a timely manner.” Id. at ¶ 90.
Plaintiffs assert “[t]his lack of clarity also leaves [them] and others at risk of arbitrary and ad hoc enforcement of’ the above laws. Id. at ¶ 91. Specifically, plaintiffs claim the manuals the PDC publishes to give citizens guidance in complying with Washington’s lobbying registration and reporting requirements are lengthy, and fail to provide definitive answers, thereby requiring further consultation of the applicable state laws and rules themselves (which plaintiffs also claim are overly lengthy) See ECF # 22, p. 6. Plaintiffs assert they have struggled with the complexity of RCW Chapter 42.17, and have “serious concerns” regarding their ability to comply with RCW 42.17.200, the biggest of which concerns how “small community groups” such as themselves should “keep track of and report amounts spent in connection with their varied activities.” Id. at pp. 7-8. Lastly, plaintiffs allege they “face a credible threat of prosecution” if, as they intend, they make expenditures in excess of the amounts set forth in RCW 42.17.200, and they do not register with the PDC. Id. at ¶ 92.
B. Facial Versus As-Applied Constitutional Challenges
There are two types of constitutional challenges a party may make regarding a contested statute, and which plaintiffs, as noted above, have presented in this case. First, a statute may be challenged “as applied.” 4805 Convoy, Inc., 183 F.3d at 1111 n. 3. “This type of challenge contends that the law is unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs particular expressive activity, even though the law may be capable of valid application to others.” Id. “[A] successful ‘as-applied’ challenge,” therefore, “does not invalidate the law itself, but only the particular application of that law.” Id. “As-applied” challenges are the norm due to the “general rule” that an individual “who has engaged in activity that is not constitutionally protected cannot complain that the statute is unconstitutional as applied to others.” Doucette, 955 F.Supp. at 1199 n. 1 (citing United States v. Raines, 362 U.S. 17, 21 , 80 S.Ct. 519 , 4 L.Ed.2d 524 (1960)).
By contrast, a “facial” challenge to the constitutionality of a statute “does not depend upon whether [the challenging party’s] own activity is shown to be constitutionally privileged.” Bigelow, 421 U.S. at 815 , 95 S.Ct. 2222 . Such a challenge thus does not require the party “making the attack” to demonstrate that the statute is unconstitutional as applied to him or her. Id. at 815-16 , 95 S.Ct. 2222 ; see also Doucette, 955 F.Supp. at 1199 n. 1. However, “a plaintiff whose conduct is protected may also bring a facial challenge to a statute that he [or she] contends is unconstitutional, ... by arguing that the statute could never be applied in a valid manner and would chill the speech of others.” 4805 Convoy, Inc., 183 F.3d at 1112 n. 4 (emphasis in original). As noted above, “a ‘facial’ challenge is generally rejected for prudential reasons,” although the “‘ordinary reluctance to entertain [one] is somewhat diminished in the First Amendment context’ because of the ‘concern that those who desire to engage in legally protected expression may refrain from doing so rather than risk prosecution or undertake to have the law declared ... invalid.’ ” Doucette, 955 F.Supp. at 1199 n. 1 (quoting Roulette v. City of Seattle, 78 F.3d 1425, 1427 (9th Cir.1996)).
*1156 “A successful challenge to the facial constitutionality of a law invalidates the law itself.” 4805 Convoy, Inc., 183 F.3d at 1111 (citation omitted). “Thus, facial challenges ‘are allowed not primarily for the benefit of the litigant, but for the benefit of society—to prevent the statute from chilling the First Amendment rights of other parties not before the court.’ ” Id. at 1111 (quoting Secretary of State of Maryland v. Joseph H. Munson Co., 467 U.S. 947, 958 , 104 S.Ct. 2839 , 81 L.Ed.2d 786 (1984)). “Declaring a statute facially unconstitutional,” however, “ ‘is, manifestly, strong medicine,’ and ‘has been employed by the [Supreme] Court sparingly and only as a last resort.’ ” Bigelow, 421 U.S. at 817 , 95 S.Ct. 2222 (quoting Broadrick, 413 U.S. at 613 , 93 S.Ct. 2908 ).
“A facial challenge to a [statute] is ... the most difficult challenge to mount successfully, since the challenger must establish that no set of circumstances exists under which [it] would be valid,” i.e., “that the law is unconstitutional in all of its applications.” Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party, 552 U.S. 442, 449 , 128 S.Ct. 1184 , 170 L.Ed.2d 151 (2008) (facial challenge must fail where statute has “plainly legitimate sweep.”) (quoting Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 739-40 , 117 S.Ct. 2258 , 138 L.Ed.2d 772 (1997)); United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 745 , 107 S.Ct. 2095 , 95 L.Ed.2d 697 (1987) (fact that statute “might operate unconstitutionally under some conceivable set of circumstances is insufficient to render it wholly invalid, since [the Supreme Court has] not recognized an ‘overbreadth’ doctrine outside the limited context of the First Amendment.”). This is “a high burden of proof’ for a plaintiff to meet. S.D. Myers, Inc. v. City and County of San Francisco, 253 F.3d 461, 467 (9th Cir.2001). As the Supreme Court has further explained:
... In determining whether a law is facially invalid, we must be careful not to go beyond the statute’s facial requirements and speculate about “hypothetical” or “imaginary” cases. See ... Raines, 362 U.S. [at] 22, 80 S.Ct. 519 ... Exercising judicial restraint in a facial challenge “frees the Court not only from unnecessary pronouncement on constitutional issues, but also from premature interpretations of statutes in areas where their constitutional application might be cloudy.” Raines, supra at 22 , 80 S.Ct. 519 ...
Facial challenges are disfavored for several reasons. Claims of facial invalidity often rest on speculation. As a consequence, they raise the risk of “premature interpretation of statutes on the basis of factually barebones records.” Sabri v. United States, 541 U.S. 600, 609 , 124 S.Ct. 1941 , 158 L.Ed.2d 891 (2004) (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted). Facial challenges also run contrary to the fundamental principle of judicial restraint that courts should neither “ ‘anticipate a question of constitutional law in advance of the necessity of deciding it’ ” nor “ ‘formulate a rule of constitutional law broader than is required by the precise facts to which it is to be applied.’ ” Ashwander v. TVA, 297 U.S. 288, 347 , 56 S.Ct. 466 , 80 L.Ed. 688 (1936) (Brandeis, J., concurring) (quoting Liverpool, New York & Philadelphia S.S. Co. v. Commissioners of Emigration, 113 U.S. 33, 39 , 5 S.Ct. 352 , 28 L.Ed. 899 (1885)). Finally, facial challenges threaten to short circuit the democratic process by preventing laws embodying the will of the people from being implemented in a manner consistent with the Constitution. We must keep in mind that “ ‘[a] ruling of unconstitutionality frustrates the intent of the elected representatives of the people.’ ” Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New Eng., 546 U.S. 320 , 329, 126 S.Ct. 961 , 163 L.Ed.2d 812 (2006) (quot *1157 ing Regan v. Time, Inc., 468 U.S. 641, 652 , 104 S.Ct. 3262 , 82 L.Ed.2d 487 (1984) (plurality opinion))----
Washington State Grange, 552 U.S. at 449-51 , 128 S.Ct. 1184 ; see also United . States v. Harriss, 347 U.S. 612, 625 , 74 S.Ct. 808 , 98 L.Ed. 989 (1954) (rejecting facial challenge because challenging parties’ predictions of unconstitutionality had amounted to “[hjypothetical borderline situations,” finding “too remote” possibility others will engage in self-censorship); Florida League of Professional Lobbyists v. Meggs, 87 F.3d 457, 460 (11th Cir.1996). “It is with these principles in view that” the Court must consider the facial challenges presented by plaintiffs. Washington State Grange, 552 U.S. at 451 , 128 S.Ct. 1184 . But as explained in greater detail below, plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that Washington’s laws governing grassroots lobbying, including RCW 42.17.200 and RCW 42.17.160, are unconstitutional, either as applied to them or on their face.
C. The Right to Engage in Anonymous or Political Speech and the Right of Association Have Not Been Unduly Burdened
As indicated above, plaintiffs claim RCW 42.17.200 and the PDC’s regulations on their face and as applied to them prohibit—or at least chill and/or severely burden—their ability and that of others to engage in political speech, both anonymous and otherwise, and to associate. See ECF# 1, ¶¶ 99-100, 102, 108, 110. Plaintiffs claim RCW 42.17.200 and the PDC’s regulations “create the reasonable probability that [their] respective members, supporters and contributors, and their potential members, supporters and contributors, will face threats, harassment, or reprisals if their names, addresses, and occupations were disclosed.” Id. at 101. In addition, plaintiffs allege RCW 42.17.200 and the PDC’s regulations impose “onerous, expensive, time-consuming, and complex” requirements that are “in excess relative to” and are “not supported” by a “compelling, important, substantial or even legitimate state interest,” and that are “not sufficiently tailored to support any such interest.” Id. at ¶¶ 103,106,112.
1. The Right to Engage in Political and Anonymous Speech and the Right of Association under the First Amendment
“The First Amendment prohibits Congress from enacting laws ‘abridging the freedom of speech.’ ” Long Beach Area Peace Network v. City of Long Beach (“Long Beach”), 574 F.3d 1011, 1020-21 (9th Cir.2009) (quoting U.S. Const, amend. I); see also SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission (“Speech-Now”), 599 F.3d 686, 692 (D.C.Cir.2010). That Amendment “is applicable to the States through the Fourteenth [Amendment].” First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765, 778 , 98 S.Ct. 1407 , 55 L.Ed.2d 707 (1978); see also Long Beach, 574 F.3d at 1021 . In addition, “certain types of speech enjoy special status.” Long Beach, 574 F.3d at 1021 . For example, “[political speech is core First Amendment speech,” that has been deemed “critical to the functioning of our democratic system.” Id.
In terms of free speech and anonymity, the Supreme Court has held in the literary context that the decision of an author “to remain anonymous ... is an aspect of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.” McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 514 U.S. 334, 342 , 115 S.Ct. 1511 , 131 L.Ed.2d 426 (1995) (“[A]t least in the field of literary endeavor, the interest in having anonymous works enter the marketplace of ideas unquestionably outweighs any public interest in requiring disclosure as a condition of entry”). Id. “The freedom to publish anonymously,” however, “extends beyond the literary realm.” Id. *1158 (noting that “[persecuted groups and sects from time to time throughout history have been able to criticize oppressive practices and laws either anonymously or not at all”) Id. (quoting Talley v. California, 362 U.S. 60, 64 , 80 S.Ct. 536 , 4 L.Ed.2d 559 (1960)).
In addition to protecting “political expression,” the First Amendment protects “political association as well.” Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 15 , 96 S.Ct. 612 , 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976); see also Citizens Against Rent Control/Coalition for Fair Housing v. City of Berkeley, California (“Citizens Against Rent Control”), 454 U.S. 290, 295 , 102 S.Ct. 434 , 70 L.Ed.2d 492 (1981); Long Beach, 574 F.3d at 1020-21 (“The First Amendment prohibits Congress from enacting laws ‘abridging ... the right of people peaceably to assemble.’ ”) (quoting U.S. Const, amend. I). Indeed, the Supreme Court has found the right of association is “a ‘basic constitutional freedom’ ... that is ‘closely allied to freedom of speech.’ ” Buckley, 424 U.S. at 25 , 96 S.Ct. 612 ; see also Citizens Against Rent Control, 454 U.S. at 295 , 102 S.Ct. 434 (recognizing importance of freedom of association in guaranteeing right of people to make voice heard on public issues); National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. State of Alabama (“NAACP”), 357 U.S. 449, 460 , 78 S.Ct. 1163 , 2 L.Ed.2d 1488 (1958) (noting “close nexus between the freedoms of speech and assembly,” and that “[effective advocacy of both public and private points of view, particularly controversial ones, is undeniably enhanced by group association.”).
“[G]roup association is protected [under the First Amendment,] because it enhances ‘(e)ffective [sic] advocacy.’ ” Buckley, 424 U.S. at 65 , 96 S.Ct. 612 (quoting NAACP, 357 U.S. at 460 , 78 S.Ct. 1163 ). Further, “compelled disclosure of affiliation with groups engaged in advocacy may” be an “effective ... restraint on freedom of association.” NAACP, 357 U.S. at 462 , 78 S.Ct. 1163 (“This Court has recognized the vital relationship between freedom to associate and privacy in one’s association.”). “The right to join together ‘for the advancement of beliefs and ideas,’ ” furthermore, “is diluted if it does not include th

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/8694519. Public record. Not legal advice.