Lawsuit Targets Cupertino Lobbying Ordinance: League Of Women Voters

CUPERTINO, CA — A local League of Women Voters chapter on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit challenging a South Bay city’s new lobbying ordinance.

The LWV’s Cupertino-Sunnyvale chapter asserts that the Cupertino ordinance’s definition of “lobbyist” is too vague and has a chilling effect on voter engagement by harming voter service organizations.

Organizations that fail to register risk being penalized.

“This ordinance is an attack on nonprofit organizations that seek to educate and empower voters and engage with their elected officials to seek reforms. Ultimately, the voters will suffer,” LWV of Cupertino-Sunnyvale co-President Tracey Edwards said in a statement.

The LWV Cupertino-Sunnyvale is represented by Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

“This ordinance violates the First Amendment rights to association and free speech, and ultimately hurts voters who have the right to engage with their elected officials without penalty,” LWV Chief Counsel Celina Stewart said in a statement.

“The overly broad definition of ‘lobbyist’ places an unnecessary burden on nonprofit organizations like the League of Women Voters and our partners as we work to empower voters and defend democracy through voter participation.”

An LWV attorney alleges the ordinance violate constitutionally protected free speech.

“On its face, Cupertino’s ordinance treats any organization that occasionally advocates in Cupertino as if the organization and its members were paid lobbyists,” LWV attorney Michael Dockterman said in a statement.

“That presumption violates the federal and state constitutional protections for free speech, freedom of association and assembly, and the rights of citizens to tell government what they think of the job that government is doing. The presumption that anyone who engages in such activities in Cupertino must file reports and disclose all sources of funds flouts cherished American values and should be declared unconstitutional.”