Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 1
FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
PUBLISH
July 6, 2026
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Christopher M. Wolpert
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
COLORADO MONTANA WYOMING
STATE AREA CONFERENCE OF
THE NAACP; LEAGUE OF WOMEN
VOTERS OF COLORADO; MI
FAMILIA VOTA,
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
v. No. 24-1328
SHAWN SMITH; ASHLEY EPP;
HOLLY KASUN,
Defendants - Appellees,
and
UNITED STATES ELECTION
INTEGRITY PLAN,
Defendant.
------------------------------UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Amicus Curiae.
COLORADO MONTANA WYOMING
STATE AREA CONFERENCE OF
THE NAACP; LEAGUE OF WOMEN
VOTERS OF COLORADO; MI
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 2
FAMILIA VOTA,
Plaintiffs - Appellees,
v. No. 25-1111
SHAWN SMITH; ASHLEY EPP;
HOLLY KASUN,
Defendants - Appellants,
and
UNITED STATES ELECTION
INTEGRITY PLAN,
Defendant.
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the District of Colorado
(D.C. No. 1:22-CV-00581-CNS-NRN)
Submitted on the briefs: *
Courtney Hostetler, John Bonifaz, Ben Clements, and Amira Mattar, of Free Speech For People, Amherst, Massachusetts; and Bryan L. Sells of The Law Office of Bryan L. Sells, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, for Plaintiffs-Appellants in 24-1328.
Cameron Powell and Michael J. Wynne, of Gregor Wynne Arney, PLLC, Houston Texas, for Defendants-Appellees Holly Kasun and Shawn Smith in 24-1328.
*The parties did not request oral argument. After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of these appeals. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). These cases are therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
2
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 3
Ashley Epp, pro se in 24-1328.
Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General; Bonnie I. Robin-Vergeer and Noah B. Bokat-Lindell, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of PlaintiffsAppellants, for the United States of America in 24-1328.
Michael J. Wynne and Cameron Powell of Gregor Wynne Arney, PLLC, Houston, Texas, for Defendants-Appellants Holly Kasun, Shawn Smith, and Ashley Epp in 25-1111.
Courtney Hostetler, John Bonifaz, and Ben Clements, of Free Speech For People, Sharon, Massachusetts; and Bryan L. Sells of The Law Office of Bryan L. Sells, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, for Plaintiffs-Appellees in 25-1111.
Before ROSSMAN, MURPHY, and FEDERICO, Circuit Judges.
FEDERICO, Circuit Judge.
This appeal concerns a dispute over alleged voter intimidation by
private citizens investigating claims of election fraud following the 2020
presidential election. Shortly following the election, Shawn Smith, Ashley
Epp, and Holly Kasun (collectively, Individual Defendants) formed an
unincorporated association, United States Election Integrity Plan (USEIP),
to investigate what they believed was large scale election fraud. In 2021,
USEIP recruited volunteers and canvassed thousands of households and
voters to verify Colorado voter roll information. The Colorado Montana
Wyoming State Area Conference of the NAACP, League of Women Voters,
3
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 4
and Mi Familia Vota (collectively, Voter Organizations) sued USEIP and
the Individual Defendants to put a stop to these activities, which the Voter
Organizations alleged to be voter intimidation.
The Voter Organizations sued Smith, Kasun, and Epp individually as
well as USEIP as an entity. However, the district court granted summary
judgment for USEIP and dismissed it from the case because it found that
unincorporated associations such as USEIP could not be sued under the
laws invoked by the suit. The district court then held a three-day bench
trial, at the conclusion of which it granted judgment on partial findings in
favor of the Individual Defendants because it found the Voter Organizations
failed to prove their claims. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(c). Following the entry of
final judgment, the Individual Defendants moved for a fee award, which the
district court denied. We have consolidated the merits appeal, No. 24-1328,
and the fee appeal, No. 25-1111, for purposes of disposition.
Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we reverse on the
merits and dismiss the fee appeal as moot.
I
We begin by discussing this case’s procedural history as it informs the
issues raised in this appeal. The Voter Organizations filed a complaint
against USEIP and the Individual Defendants in March 2022 alleging three
claims: (1) intimidating voters and potential voters in violation of Section
4
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 5
11(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), 52 U.S.C. § 10307(b); (2)
attempting to intimidate voters and potential voters in violation of Section
11(b) of the VRA; and (3) violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act, 42 U.S.C.
§ 1985.
The complaint alleged that USEIP and the Individual Defendants
intimidated, conspired to intimidate, and attempted to intimidate voters by
running a door-to-door canvassing campaign, during which volunteers
asked voters if they had engaged in voter fraud, whether they had
participated in the 2020 election, and who they voted for. According to the
complaint, these volunteers were sometimes armed and wore badges that
made them appear as if they were associated with an official government
agency. Individual Defendants drafted a County & Local Organizing
Playbook for USEIP that laid out the association’s canvassing tactics, which
included “threatening and intimidating voters in order to support debunked
claims of election fraud.” No. 24-1328, Aplt. App. at 29. Smith publicly
stated, per the complaint, “I think if you are involved in election fraud then
you deserve to hang. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.” Id. at 28.
USEIP and the Individual Defendants eventually filed both a motion for
judgment on the pleadings and a motion for summary judgment.
USEIP and the Individual Defendants’ motion for judgment on the
pleadings asserted that the Voter Organizations lacked prudential and
5
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 6
statutory standing to bring claims under the VRA. It also asserted that the
Voter Organizations were not citizens who could vote, so they could not
state a claim under § 1985. The district court held that USEIP and the
Individual Defendants had waived their prudential standing argument by
not asserting it in their earlier motion to dismiss, that the VRA conferred a
private right of action, and that corporations were persons who could be
sued under § 1985, so the Voter Organizations had prudential standing to
bring their VRA and § 1985 claims.
In a motion for summary judgment, USEIP and the Individual
Defendants asserted that the Voter Organizations failed to adduce evidence
that a voter had been intimidated by their actions or that they had
attempted to intimidate voters. It also asserted that USEIP was not a
proper defendant because it is an unincorporated association, and
unincorporated associations cannot be sued under the VRA or § 1985
according to this circuit’s precedent, Lippoldt v. Cole, 468 F.3d 1204 (10th
Cir. 2006).
Regarding the voter intimidation issue, the district court found that
there was a genuine dispute of material fact because USEIP and the
Individual Defendants denied they had contact with the voters identified by
the Voter Organizations who were allegedly intimidated by USEIP’s
6
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 7
actions. The district court therefore denied summary judgment on this
issue.
As to the unincorporated association issue, the district court found
that it was bound by this court’s precedent in Lippoldt, where we held that
unincorporated associations were not “persons” who could sue under 42
U.S.C. § 1983. The district court reasoned that, because § 1983 and § 1985
were enacted together in the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, it would “strain the
court’s analysis to hold that an entity could be considered a ‘person’ under
one clause of the statute but not a ‘person’ within another clause of the same
statute.” Aplt. App. at 69. So, in the district court’s view, an unincorporated
association was not a “person” who could be sued under the VRA or under
§ 1985. Id. (citing Lippoldt, 468 F.3d at 1212–13). As a result, the district
court granted summary judgment for USEIP and dismissed USEIP from the
case.
The case then proceeded to a bench trial against the Individual
Defendants. Next, we summarize the evidence as it was presented by the
parties during the bench trial.
II
A
During the three-day bench trial, the Voter Organizations presented
seven witnesses, including one expert witness. Each Individual Defendant
7
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 8
– Smith, Kasun, and Epp – were called as witnesses by the Voter
Organizations and testified about their involvement in USEIP and their
belief that the 2020 presidential election was plagued by election fraud.
Christopher Beall, the Colorado Deputy Secretary of State, was called
as a witness by the Voter Organizations and testified about complaint calls
and two e-mails the secretary of state’s office received concerning alleged
USEIP activities. Beall also testified that USEIP’s activities presented a
risk of voter intimidation.
Beth Hendrix, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of
Colorado, testified that she had no personal knowledge of any voter
intimidated by USEIP or of USEIP’s canvassing efforts. Rather, her
organization had filed this case based on media reports of the same.
Professor Atiba Ellis was called by the Voter Organizations as an
expert witness on voter intimidation generally. Professor Ellis described
activities that have traditionally amounted to voter intimidation during his
testimony, including economic retaliation, blocking voters from or following
them to polling places, and placing threatening phone calls.
Yvette Roberts, a resident of Mesa County, Colorado, was the only
canvassed voter who was called as a witness by the Voter Organizations.
She testified about an interaction she had with two individuals who
knocked on her door and wore badges that looked like they were “from an
8
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 9
office supply store” with the words “Colorado election” written on them. Id.
at 173, 218. Roberts testified that the individuals did not provide her with
any information that “gave [her] any clue about who they were or who they
were working with.” Id. at 175. She also testified that they “knew [her]
name,” “where [she] was living,” her phone number, and her “affiliation
with political parties,” which she assumed was because they were “working
off of a voter roll.” Id. at 173. The individuals told her they were
“investigating things,” proceeded to ask her questions concerning who she
lived with and if they were voters and/or citizens, and left when she
indicated that she wanted them “to leave now.” Id. at 170–71, 174. She also
testified that she found the presence of the two individuals at her door
intimidating, but that this one event would not “keep [her] from voting” in
Colorado elections. Id. at 180–81.
B
Throughout the trial, the district court admitted into evidence most
of the Voter Organizations’ exhibits. The only exhibit that the Voter
Organizations now challenge as excluded from evidence is a video of Smith
speaking at a public event held in February 2022 at The Rock, a church in
Castle Rock, Colorado. During his remarks, Smith claimed that he had
evidence of criminal conduct undertaken by Colorado’s secretary of state
concerning election fraud. He then said, “[I]f you’re involved in election
9
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 10
fraud then you deserve to hang. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.”
No. 24-1328, Aplt. App. at 286, Ex. 8 at 0:35–0:50. He also remarked that
he would be submitting this evidence to the district attorney. The video of
these remarks was included prior to trial on the parties’ joint exhibit list as
exhibit 8 with no objection from the Individual Defendants noted as to its
admissibility.
At trial, Smith testified on cross-examination about the statements
he made that were captured on the video recording. The Voter
Organizations moved to admit the video into evidence, arguing that it was
important for the district court to see and hear Smith’s words at the event.
The Individual Defendants objected to admitting the video based on hearsay
as to Kasun and Epp, as well as lack of foundation and authenticity. The
district court did not admit the video into evidence, stating: “I don’t know
anything about the video. . . . Ask the witness what he said. I’m not allowing
you to show me the video. It seems to me he remembers what he said, so
let’s just ask him.” Id. at 136.
When asked what he said at the February 2022 event, Smith testified
that he said that he had “in [his] possession evidence of violations of election
law by Secretary of State Griswold, . . . which [he] provided to the Colorado
Attorney General under sworn affidavit,” and that he believes “that
anybody who is involved in election fraud . . . deserves to hang.” Id.
10
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 11
In addition to excluding the video exhibit, the district court also did
not permit certain lines of questioning of witnesses that the Voter
Organizations characterize as “relevant to the context in which the
challenged acts occurred.” Op. Br. at 52. Most saliently, the district court
did not permit the Voter Organizations’ attorney to continue a line of
questioning during Epp’s testimony concerning USEIP’s blog posts about
election fraud:
THE COURT: All right. I need you to move. You haven’t even
established that she engaged in canvassing or talked to a single
person. I want to know what Ms. Epp did, not – I have
dismissed the organization. It’s not on trial here. We’re
talking about three individuals and their actions for voter
intimidation. You’ve got to tie this to Ms. Epp and what she is
doing to intimidate voters, not express her opinion about the
election. Do you understand the difference?
[VOTER ORGANIZATIONS’ COUNSEL]: I respectfully
disagree, but I do understand what the Court is saying.
THE COURT: Well, given that, let’s try to proceed to that so we
stop wasting so much time. I imagine – is there any dispute
about any of these documents you sent? No. So you could point
them out, let me read them.
No. 24-1328, Aplt. App. at 150 (emphasis added).
Similarly, at certain other points during the testimony of the
Individual Defendants, the district court excluded or limited questioning
about USEIP’s activities as an organization, the events at the U.S. Capitol
on January 6, 2021, and the Individual Defendants’ opinions about election
11
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 12
fraud. Specifically, the district court found such questions were immaterial
to the issues in the case because they did not relate to acts the Individual
Defendants had taken themselves that would constitute voter intimidation,
as opposed to acts taken by USEIP as an organization.
C
When the Voter Organizations finished presenting their case, the
Individual Defendants made an oral motion for judgment on partial findings
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(c). They argued that the
Voter Organizations did not produce sufficient evidence to sustain a ruling
in their favor. The Individual Defendants focused heavily upon Roberts’
testimony. They contended that nothing the canvassers said or did when
interacting with Roberts was objectively intimidating or threatening, and
that Roberts did not have personal knowledge that the canvassers who came
to her door were affiliated with USEIP. In fact, Roberts resided in Mesa
County and the district court found that there was no evidence to indicate
that USEIP ever canvassed in Mesa County.
The Voter Organizations argued that the issue was whether USEIP’s
door-to-door canvassing activities, taken into context with their public
statements regarding the 2020 presidential election and election fraud, was
objectively intimidating to a reasonable Colorado voter. The Voter
Organizations pointed to USEIP’s Playbook as exemplifying objectively
12
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 13
intimidating behavior, as well as testimony from Smith, Kasun, and Epp
about USEIP’s canvassing tactics, which included asking voters how they
voted in the past to identify potentially fraudulent ballots, as having
chilling effect on future voter activity.
The district court found that none of the witnesses’ testimony or other
evidence presented by the Voter Organizations indicated that the
Individual Defendants or any of USEIP’s members had engaged in conduct
that was objectively intimidating to voters, and that the contents of
USEIP’s Playbook was also not objectively intimidating. The court also
found that the Voter Organizations failed to present evidence that USEIP
volunteers were surveilling voters’ residences by taking photos. The district
court granted the Individual Defendants’ Rule 52(c) motion and entered
judgment for them. This appeal timely followed.
III
The Voter Organizations raise four issues on appeal: (1) the district
court improperly applied Lippoldt to the VRA and § 1985(3) and thus its
dismissal of USEIP was error; (2) the district court abused its discretion
when it refused to admit the video of Shawn Smith’s public remarks into
evidence; (3) the district court clearly erred when it determined that the
behavior of the canvassers with whom Roberts interacted with was not
objectively intimidating; and (4) the district court applied the wrong legal
13
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 14
standard in its analysis of the Individual Defendants’ motion under Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 52(c).
The Individual Defendants respond that: (1) the Voter Organizations
did not have Article III standing to proceed with this case in the first
instance; 1 (2) the district court was correct that the Voter Organizations
had failed to tie the activities of the canvassers who interacted with Roberts
to USEIP; (3) the video of Smith’s public remarks was properly excluded for
being irrelevant and cumulative; (4) canvassers engaged in protected speech
and could not be held liable without a showing of recklessness; (5) the larger
context between the events of January 6, 2021 and USEIP’s activities and
statements was not probative of liability because it was too far removed in
time and location; and (6) the Voter Organizations and their attorneys
should be sanctioned for bringing a frivolous lawsuit and appeal that
targets political speech.
1 The Individual Defendants do not challenge the district court’s rulings on statutory and prudential standing. Rather, they revive their challenge to the Voter Organizations’ Article III standing that they raised in a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss that was denied by the district court. This challenge was again raised in the Individual Defendants’ response brief rather than by a cross-appeal.
14
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 15
We will now proceed to examine the parties’ arguments. 2 For the
reasons that follow, we reverse the district court’s order dismissing USEIP
as a defendant and its order granting judgment on partial findings to the
Individual Defendants, vacate the district court’s judgment, and remand for
a new trial.
IV
As an initial matter, we must assess whether the Voter Organizations
have standing. The Individual Defendants argue that the Voter
Organizations lack Article III standing because they did not suffer an injury
in fact. Specifically, they challenge organizational standing, asserting that
the Voter Organizations diverted resources based on speculation from
media reports and so any harm was self-inflicted. This argument was
initially raised by USEIP and the Individual Defendants in a Rule 12(b)(1)
motion to dismiss before the district court. The district court denied that
2 Smith and Kasun are represented by counsel in this appeal while
Epp has proceeded pro se. Smith and Kasun filed a response brief jointly, and Epp filed her pro se response brief separately. We summarize and consider their arguments collectively across both briefs. USEIP did not participate in this appeal.
15
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 16
motion and found that the Voter Organizations had organizational
standing.
Standing is a prerequisite to our jurisdiction, and any party may raise
the issue of standing at any point in a litigation. New England Health Care
Emps. Pension Fund v. Woodruff, 512 F.3d 1283, 1288 (10th Cir. 2008). We
review standing de novo. Awad v. Ziriax, 670 F.3d 1111, 1119–20 (10th Cir.
2012). Because a “plaintiff must demonstrate standing ‘with the manner
and degree of evidence required at the successive stages of the litigation,’”
and this case proceeded to trial, “the specific facts set forth by the [Voter
Organizations] ‘must be supported adequately by the evidence adduced at
trial.’” TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 594 U.S. 413, 431 (2021) (first quoting
Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 651 (1992); then quoting Davis v.
Fed. Election Comm’n, 554 U.S. 724, 734 (2008)).
To establish standing, a plaintiff must show an injury-in-fact,
causation, and redressability. Aptive Env’t, LLC v. Town of Castle Rock, 959
F.3d 961, 973 (10th Cir. 2020). Organizations “may have standing ‘to sue on
their own behalf for injuries they have sustained.’” Food & Drug Admin. v.
All. for Hippocratic Med., 602 U.S. 367, 393 (2024) (quoting Havens Realty
Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 379 n.19 (1982)). But organizations may
not “manufacture standing merely by inflicting harm on themselves based
on their fears of hypothetical future harm that is not certainly impending.”
16
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 17
Clapper v. Amnesty Int’l USA, 568 U.S. 398, 416 (2013). Neither can an
“organization that has not suffered a concrete injury caused by a
defendant’s action [] spend its way into standing simply by expending
money to gather information and advocate against the defendant’s action.”
All. for Hippocratic Med., 602 U.S. at 394. Instead, an organization has
suffered an injury when a defendant’s actions have “directly affected and
interfered with” its “core business activities.” Id. at 395.
According to the evidence adduced and proffered at trial, the Colorado
Montana Wyoming State Area Conference of the NAACP is a civic
engagement organization that engages in voter outreach and issue
advocacy. The League of Women Voters of Colorado is a non-profit
organization that engages in voter outreach, education, and issue advocacy.
And Mi Familia Vota is a civic engagement organization that provides
workshops, educational programs, and other initiatives to encourage Latino
and immigrant communities to register for and participate in elections. All
three organizations have diverted time, personnel, and resources from their
regular programming into monitoring and combatting USEIP’s canvassing
efforts.
All three of the Voter Organizations’ core business activities include
engaging in some form of voter outreach and education to increase voter
participation. The Voter Organizations’ perception that USEIP’s door-to17
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 18
door canvassing efforts were intimidating voters and discouraging civic
participation caused each organization to divert resources from their
normal outreach and education services to counter potential voter confusion
or intimidation. For example, the League of Women Voters of Colorado
diverted resources from their core activities to creating new outreach about
recognizing misinformation, publishing a white paper on Colorado’s election
system, and fielding questions about USEIP’s actions from its members and
the public. Similarly, the NAACP had to update their voter outreach
materials to include information about an individual’s rights if a USEIP
canvasser came to their door, and Mi Familia Vota had to revise the scripts
and training it provides to their volunteer canvassers to include information
on how to respond to voter reports who may have had contact with USEIP.
Thus, the Voter Organizations presented evidence that USEIP’s canvassing
efforts “directly affected and interfered” with the organizations’ core
business activities. All. for Hippocratic Med., 602 U.S. at 395 (citing Havens
Realty, 455 U.S. 363).
We agree that the Voter Organizations have established their
standing. Several other circuit courts have similarly found that
organizations engaged in voter outreach activities are injured when a
defendant’s actions caused them to divert resources away to mitigate the
effects of those actions on voters. For instance, the Fifth Circuit found that
18
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 19
the NAACP had standing to challenge Louisiana’s congressional maps
because “[t]hey were forced to reallocate staff and launch new initiatives to
mitigate the effects of the maps on Black voter confidence and candidate
viability.” Nairne v. Landry, 151 F.4th 666, 682 (5th Cir. 2025), vacated and
remanded on other grounds, No. 24-30115, 2026 WL 1255781 (5th Cir. May
7, 2026). And the Fourth Circuit found that the Republican National
Committee had standing to sue the North Carolina State Board of Elections
for alleged noncompliance with a federal statute concerning voting systems
and voter access, accepting the Committee’s allegations that its
“organizational and voter outreach efforts” were “significantly stymied” due
to its diversion of resources into addressing alleged defects in North
Carolina’s voter rolls. Republican Nat’l Comm. v. N.C. State Bd. of
Elections, 120 F.4th 390, 394, 397 (4th Cir. 2024). We find no material
difference between this case and the cases before the Fifth and Fourth
Circuits and therefore align with our sister circuits. See United States v.
Thomas, 939 F.3d 1121, 1130 (10th Cir. 2019) (holding courts should be
“reluctan[t]” to create a circuit split).
Finally, it does not matter that the Individual Defendants assert that
USEIP’s actions were not, in fact, intimidating voters because that is a
merits question. See Smith v. Albany Cnty. Sch. Dist. No. 1 Bd. of Trs., 121
F.4th 1374, 1378 (10th Cir. 2024) (“Standing in no way depends on the
19
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 20
merits of the plaintiff’s contention that particular conduct is illegal.”
(quoting Initiative & Referendum Inst. v. Walker, 450 F.3d 1082, 1093 (10th
Cir. 2006) (en banc))). What matters is that USEIP’s actions – benign or not
– interfered with the organizations’ core business activities. They did, so
the organizations have standing.
We now proceed to consider the merits of the appeal.
V
We next examine the Voter Organizations’ challenge to the district
court’s dismissal of USEIP as a defendant on summary judgment. The
dismissal of USEIP from this case is central to the outcome of this appeal.
We ultimately find the district court committed legal error by how it applied
our precedent to § 1985 and the VRA, and USEIP’s absence as a defendant
subsequently led the district court to narrow its view of the relevant
evidence at trial.
We review a district court’s decision on summary judgment de novo
and apply the same legal standard as the district court. Peterson v. Nelnet
Diversified Sols., LLC, 15 F.4th 1033, 1037 (10th Cir. 2021). “[S]ummary
judgment is appropriate ‘if the movant shows there is no genuine dispute
as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter
of law.’” Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)).
20
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 21
A
In its decision granting summary judgment to USEIP and dismissing
it from this case, the district court found it was bound to apply our precedent
Lippoldt v. Cole, where we held that unincorporated associations were not
“persons” who could sue under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 468 F.3d at 1216. In so
doing, the district court held that unincorporated associations, like USEIP,
could not be sued under § 1985 or the VRA. We find that the district court
committed legal error when it concluded unincorporated associations
cannot be sued for alleged violations of Section 11(b) of the VRA or
§ 1985(3). 3
Lippoldt concerned the City of Wichita’s denial of a parade permit to
Operation Save America during the summer of 2001. 468 F.3d at 1209.
Operation Save America was an unincorporated association of volunteers
who opposed abortion. Id. It had sought a parade permit to protest in front
of a local abortion provider’s clinic during its planned “Summer of Mercy
Renewal” commemorating the ten-year anniversary of previous antiabortion protests. Id. at 1209–10. After the parade permit was denied,
Operation Save America sued the City of Wichita and several individuals,
3 Though Individual Defendants on appeal do not defend the district
court’s reasoning on this legal question, we nevertheless examine the purported error in full because we determine that it was not harmless and thus affects our overall disposition of the appeal.
21
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 22
bringing claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 that alleged violations of
the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Id. at 1210–11. Relevant here, the
district court held that Operation Save America, an unincorporated
association, was a “person” under § 1983 and, thus, was entitled to seek
relief pursuant to that statute. Id. at 1211. After the district court entered
judgment for Operation Save America and awarded nominal damages,
defendants appealed, and this court subsequently reversed the judgment.
Id. at 1211, 1216.
We construed the term “persons” in § 1983 to exclude unincorporated
associations. Id. at 1211. In doing so, we considered Supreme Court
precedent discussing the meaning of “person” under § 1983, the relevant
legislative history, and the common law understanding of what an
unincorporated association was understood to be in 1871. Id. at 1213. We
also considered the definition of “person” as set out in the Dictionary Act of
1871, which excluded associations and was in place at the time of § 1983’s
enactment. Id. at 1214. Thus, we found that the best interpretation of
“person” in § 1983 excluded unincorporated associations. Id. at 1216. As
mentioned, the district court relied upon Lippoldt’s holding and reasoning
to dismiss USEIP as a defendant, a decision that we now conclude was error.
22
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 23
B
In applying Lippoldt to § 1985, the district court reasoned that,
because there is a presumption of statutory interpretation that “identical
words used in different parts of the same act are intended to have the same
meaning,” it would “strain the court’s analysis to hold that an entity could
be considered a ‘person’ under one clause of the statute but not a ‘person’
within another clause of the same statute.” No. 24-1328, Aplt. App. at 69
(quoting Lippoldt, 468 F.3d at 1213). We disagree. Sections 1983 and 1985
are two different statutes and, while passed in the same Act, there are key
differences between § 1983 and § 1985 that warrant interpreting the word
“person” differently in each.
The district court was correct that courts usually presume “identical
words in different parts of the same act are intended to have the same
meaning.” Lippoldt, 468 F.3d at 1213 (citing United States v. Cleveland
Indians Baseball Co., 532 U.S. 200, 214 (2001)). This presumption
supported Lippoldt’s reasoning that we could rely upon Monell’s approach
in interpreting the first usage of “person” in § 1983 – or who can be sued
because they are a rights violator – to our task of interpreting the second
usage – who can sue because their rights were violated. Id. However, the
presumption “yields whenever there is such variation in the connection in
which the words are used as reasonably to warrant the conclusion that they
23
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 24
were employed in different parts of the act with different intent.” United
States v. Doe, 572 F.3d 1162, 1167 (10th Cir. 2009) (quoting Gen. Dynamics
Land Sys., Inc. v. Cline, 540 U.S. 581, 595 (2004)). Here, we must interpret
the second usage of “person” in the context of a different statute, § 1985,
passed as part of the same Act. Because the purposes underlying each
statute are different, as understood and supported by their relevant
legislative history, the presumption the district court applied carries little
weight.
As we undertake our analysis, we take solace that it follows the same
analytical path the Supreme Court took in Monell and this court followed
in Lippoldt when interpreting the different meanings of “person” under
§ 1983. See Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 686–89 (1978);
Lippoldt, 468 F.3d at 1213. Lippoldt discussed the meaning of “person” in
terms of who could sue under § 1983, an issue of first impression at the time.
See 468 F.3d at 1216. This nuance is meaningful because § 1983 uses
“person” in two different ways: (1) “[e]very person” who deprives someone
of their rights and (2) a “citizen . . . or other person” within the jurisdiction
of the United States who is deprived of their rights. 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Thus,
§ 1983 contemplates two separate and differently constrained usages of
“person”: (1) a person who is a potential defendant (the first usage), and (2)
a person who is a potential plaintiff (the second usage). Lippoldt was
24
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 25
primarily concerned with interpreting the second usage, and in doing so,
used the approach the Supreme Court took in Monell where the Supreme
Court interpreted the first usage. Lippoldt, 468 F.3d at 1212. Because we
are looking at the text of a different statute, § 1985(3), which constrains its
own usages of the word “person” in different ways than the text of § 1983,
we will similarly look to Monell and Lippoldt’s interpretative approach for
guidance rather than, as the district court did, for a binding answer.
Where, as here, there is more than one interpretation of the text of a
statute, we must “decide which of the competing interpretations reflects
Congress’ intent.” Wyodak Res. Dev. Corp. v. United States, 637 F.3d 1127,
1131 (10th Cir. 2011). The first step in determining congressional intent is
to examine the text of the statute. Id. Section 1985 states:
If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire . . . for
the purpose of depriving . . . any person or class of persons of the
equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities
under the laws . . . or if two or more persons conspire to prevent by
force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled
to vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner . . .
[the injured party] may have an action for the recovery of damages
occasioned by such injury or deprivation, against any one or more
of the conspirators.
42 U.S.C. § 1985(3).
And Section 1983 states:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance,
regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the
District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any
25
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 26
citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction
thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities
secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party
injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper
proceeding for redress[.]
42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The district court concluded that the word “person” has the same
meaning across these two statutes, but it is not so cut and dry. Under the
plain text of § 1985(3), actions may be brought “against any one or more of
the conspirators” – or, any one or more of the “two or more persons” who
“conspire.” Id. Nothing in the text of § 1985(3) prohibits the conclusion that
an unincorporated association can form a conspiracy of “two or more
persons.” Nor does the text prohibit the conclusion that an unincorporated
association can be one or more of the conspirators that a suit may be brought
against.
Contrasting the text of § 1985 with the text of § 1983 illustrates why
the term “person” does not have the same meaning across the two statutes.
The plain text of § 1983 restricts application of liability to individual
persons who act under color of state law to deprive other persons of their
rights. Indeed, we noted in Lippoldt that municipalities were the entities
that were targeted by this restricted conception of “person” in § 1983. 468
F.3d at 1213. Section 1985’s conception of what “person” can be liable is not
similarly restricted. As the above examination illustrates, the texts of
26
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 27
§§ 1983 and 1985 address civil rights violations perpetrated by different
actors.
Because the plain text of these two statutes does not unambiguously
answer the question of whether an unincorporated association is a person
who can be sued under § 1985(3), other sources must be consulted. As done
in Lippoldt, we look to “(1) the legislative history of [the statute], (2) the
general understanding, as of 1871, regarding the legal personality of
unincorporated associations, and (3) the Dictionary Act of 1871.” Lippoldt,
468 F.3d at 1213. The following analysis will first examine the general
understanding regarding unincorporated associations and the applicable
Dictionary Act definition of “person” before ending with the legislative
history of § 1985.
To be sure, these two statutes were enacted together in the Ku Klux
Klan Act of 1871, when the common law understanding of an
unincorporated association was that it lacked the capacity to sue or be sued,
and when the Dictionary Act of 1871 was applicable to both. Id. at 1213. In
the 1871 Dictionary Act, the definition of “person” did not include
unincorporated associations. Id. at 1214.
However, “the successive enactments” of the Dictionary Act and of
§ 1985 “further reveal the lack of . . . intent on the part of Congress” to
exclude unincorporated associations from what “persons” could be sued
27
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 28
under § 1985(3). Ngiraingas v. Sanchez, 495 U.S. 182, 189 (1990). In 1874,
Congress amended the Dictionary Act’s definition of person to substitute
“partnerships and corporations” for “bodies politic and corporate,” and
explicitly stated its revisions should be referenced when “determining the
meaning of the revised statutes.” Id. at 190–91 & n.10 (quoting Rev. Stat.
§ 1, 18 Stat. 1 (1874)). Under the common law at the time, partnerships
were viewed as a catchall for those “association[s] of individuals” that were
not incorporated. Hoadley v. Cnty. Comm’rs of Essex, 105 Mass. 519, 526
(1870) (holding that a voluntary association of individuals could not be
taxed as a corporation, but rather should be taxed as a copartnership); see
also, e.g., McMahon v. Rauhr, 2 Sickels 67, 70 (N.Y. 1871) (noting that
“voluntary association[s] not incorporated” have “rights” and “modes of
enforcing” such rights that are “not materially different from those of
partners”). And because § 1985(3) was reenacted in the revised statutes
along with the Dictionary Act in 1874, “it becomes clear” that a person who
could be sued under § 1985(3) included forms of unincorporated
associations. Ngiraingas, 495 U.S. at 191; see Rev. Stat. § 1980, 18 Stat. 349
(1874).
Additionally, the legislative history of § 1985 supports the reading
that its language is properly construed to include unincorporated
associations. “To the extent the plain meaning of the statutory language
28
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 29
and context of ‘person’ is unclear, we turn to the ‘“legislative environment”
in which the word [person] appears,’ searching for an ‘indicia of
congressional intent at the time the statute was enacted.’” Doe, 572 F.3d at
1169 (alteration in original) (quoting Lippoldt, 468 F.3d at 1212).
Section 1985 was enacted to suppress the violent actions of the Ku
Klux Klan, an unincorporated association. See Monell, 436 U.S. at 665; see
also United States v. Mitchell, 26 F. Cas. 1283 (C.C.D.S.C. 1871) (No.
15,790) (charging jury in § 1985 case brought against members of the Ku
Klux Klan for their actions taken to prevent others from voting). Indeed,
during floor debates over the Ku Klux Klan Act, members of Congress
repeatedly stated that Section 2 of the Act was meant to prohibit
organizations of persons from denying “any class or condition of men equal
protection.” Cong. Globe, 42d Cong., 1st Sess. app. at 69, 251–53 (1871); see
also id. at 821. Notably, Senator George Edmunds, in defending a failed
amendment to the Act which would have expanded liability to counties,
stated his view that “all kinds of organizations, partnerships, and
communities[,] . . . are . . . persons in the eye of the law, and as persons . . .
are subject to the judicial authority of the United States.” Id. at 821. And
members of Congress repeatedly noted that the Ku Klux Klan’s acts of
violence and terror were attributable to it as a political organization, rather
than to any of its individual members. See, e.g., id., app. at 252–53 (“[The
29
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 30
Ku Klux Klan] is a confederacy, existing in a number of States[.] . . . It
electioneers by murder, and persuades men by the lash and destruction of
their property.” (emphasis added)).
In sum, § 1983 is targeted to address individual state actors who
violate civil rights, while § 1985 is targeted to “specifically address[] the
problem of the private acts of violence perpetrated by groups like the Klan.”
Jett v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 491 U.S. 701, 722–23 (1989). The differences
in the text and purpose of §§ 1983 and 1985, as well as the legislative
history indicating Congress’s intent to target organizations and
unincorporated associations with § 1985, necessitates a finding that the
meaning of the word “person” is different across these two sections of the
Act. We hold that “persons” under § 1985 include unincorporated
associations.
Finally, given our holding and analysis we are compelled to say
explicitly that this opinion does not overrule Lippoldt. Rather, we find that
Lippoldt’s holding as to § 1983 is not dispositive here because, for the
reasons stated above, it is not applicable to § 1985.
C
The district court also applied Lippoldt’s holding to the meaning of
the word “person” in § 11(b) of the VRA. But there was no basis to do so.
Section 11(b) of the VRA provides: “No person, whether acting under color
30
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 31
of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to
intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for voting or attempting to
vote[.]” 52 U.S.C. § 10307(b).
Section 11(b)’s usage of person covers both public and private actors
by broadening the word with the phrase “whether acting under color of law
or otherwise.” Id. (emphasis added). “Under color of law” implicates state
action, including by private actors “jointly engaged with state officials in [a]
prohibited action.” United States v. Price, 383 U.S. 787, 794 (1966). And the
phrase “or otherwise,” in the context of the text of § 11(b), is a disjunctive,
catchall term that “captures material that does not fit neatly into the
statute’s enumerated categories but is nevertheless meant to be covered.”
Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharms., USA, Inc., 586 U.S. 123, 132
(2019).
It follows, then, that the “or otherwise” language in § 11(b) captures
persons who are not acting under color of state law, or said another way,
private actors. And there is nothing in the text of § 11(b) to indicate that an
unincorporated association cannot be a private “person” that can be sued
under it, such as “adjectives or conditions . . . that are nonsensical when
applied outside of the living individual context” or “tests . . . that would be
irrelevant to artificial entities.” Doe, 572 F.3d at 1168. Unincorporated
associations are capable of “intimidat[ing], threaten[ing], or coerc[ing]” just
31
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 32
as living individuals can do the same. 52 U.S.C. § 10307(b); see, e.g.,
Thompson v. Trump, 590 F. Supp. 3d 46, 62, 96, 106–07 (D.D.C. Feb. 18,
2022) (finding plaintiffs had stated a § 1985(1) civil conspiracy claim
against the Oath Keepers, an “organized militia group”), aff’d sub nom.
Blassingame v. Trump, 87 F.4th 1 (D.C. Cir. 2023).
Section 11(b)’s legislative history supports the view that
unincorporated associations qualify as persons who can be sued. In the
House Report on the VRA, Congress indicated its contemporaneous
awareness of the “incredible accounts of citizens in our own land living in
an atmosphere of terror and reprisal if they even attempt[ed] to register [to
vote],” including accounts of actions taken by unincorporated associations
like the Ku Klux Klan. H.R. Rep. No. 89-439, at 37–38 (1965) (citing United
States Comm’n on Civil Rights, Voting in Mississippi, ch. III, 27 (1965)
(recounting testimony from family members who were visited by the Ku
Klux Klan and handed a card stating “Thousands of Klansmen, Watching .
. . Waiting!” after they took the voter registration test in Jefferson County,
Mississippi)).
By 1965, when the VRA was enacted, the common law and the
Dictionary Act had abandoned their understanding of “person” that this
court relied upon in Lippoldt. By 1922, the common law rule against suing
unincorporated associations as entities had become outmoded, as the
32
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 33
Supreme Court recognized in United Mine Workers of Am. v. Coronado Coal
Co., 259 U.S. 344, 385–86 (1922). And in 1948, the Dictionary Act was
expanded to include unincorporated associations in the definition of
“persons.” See Lippoldt, 468 F.3d at 1214 (noting that the Dictionary Act
“clearly states, and has since 1948, . . . that the word ‘person’ ‘include[s] . .
. associations’” (second alteration in original)). By 1964, the definition of
person in the Dictionary Act included “corporations, companies,
associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as
well as individuals.” 1 U.S.C. § 1 (1964) (emphasis added). Hence, the entire
foundation upon which Lippoldt’s reasoning rested had been torn down and
rebuilt by the time the VRA was enacted.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court has counseled that the VRA should
be construed “in a manner that provides ‘the broadest possible scope’ in
combating racial discrimination.” Chisom v. Roemer, 501 U.S. 380, 403
(1991) (citation omitted). Here, following all the signs that point in the same
direction, we hold that the term “person” in the VRA includes
unincorporated associations.
D
Notably, the Individual Defendants do not dispute that the district
court erred in applying Lippoldt to the VRA and to § 1985 and in dismissing
USEIP as a defendant. Instead, they argue that this amounted to harmless
33
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 34
error because the Voter Organizations failed to connect them to a conspiracy
with other USEIP members or show that they had an agency relationship
with the organization or its members.
For their part, the Voter Organizations retort that the district court’s
decision to dismiss USEIP as a defendant affected their substantial rights
under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 61. The Voter Organizations reason
that the district court narrowed its trial focus down to the individual actions
taken by Smith, Kasun, and Epp, and thereby ignored USEIP’s overall
“intimidation campaign” that “its leaders orchestrated [and] recruited for.”
Reply Br. at 10. Most saliently, the Voter Organizations note that the
district court refused to consider evidence from USEIP’s message boards
wherein members discussed canvassing while armed.
In civil cases, a new trial will not be granted, and a verdict will not be
set aside for error by the court unless such error affects a party’s
“substantial rights.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 61; see also 28 U.S.C. § 2111. “An error
affecting a substantial right of a party is an error which had a substantial
influence or which leaves one in grave doubt as to whether it had such an
effect on the outcome.” Bridges v. Wilson, 996 F.3d 1094, 1099 (10th Cir.
2021) (quoting Hill v. J.B. Hunt Transp., Inc., 815 F.3d 651, 659 (10th Cir.
2016)). In applying this rule, the court must look at the circumstances of
the case holistically, “exercise[] common sense,” and assess whether a
34
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 35
practical likelihood exists “that the result in the district court would have
been different had the error not occurred.” Id. Finally, “[a]n important
factor” in this inquiry is “the strength of the case in support of the verdict.”
Mary Kay Kane & Allen Stein, 11 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and
Procedure § 2883 (3d ed. 2026).
While this is a close call, we conclude that the dismissal of USEIP had
a substantial influence on the outcome of the bench trial because it
narrowed the scope of the evidence the district court considered. As always,
it is somewhat unclear and predictive how a trial would have proceeded if
USEIP remained in the case as a defendant. But despite this lack of clarity,
it is certain that the Voter Organizations would have presented a stronger
case if USEIP remained a defendant and part of the alleged conspiracy.
Thus, the error in dismissing USEIP as a defendant had a substantial
influence in the outcome of the bench trial that resulted in a judgment in
favor of the Individual Defendants.
The district court noted in its Rule 52(c) verdict in favor of the
Individual Defendants that it found the Voter Organizations had “failed to
introduce any evidence that can remotely be perceived as intimidating or
threatening on behalf of the three defendants” only. Aplt. App. at 219–20.
The district court also noted its view that evidence not directly tied to
Smith, Kasun, and Epp was irrelevant because USEIP was “not on trial
35
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 36
here.” Id. at 150. The district court’s narrowed view on relevance also led it
to limit questioning on USEIP members’ message board discussions about
volunteers planning to carry weapons with them while canvassing and on
USEIP volunteers taking photos of voters’ residences. The district court’s
decision to limit questioning on these topics and the related exhibits was
also based on hearsay grounds, something that may not have been an
appropriate basis for the exclusion of such evidence if USEIP was a
defendant. See Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2).
Given the effect of USEIP’s dismissal from the case on the district
court’s view on the relevance and admissibility of evidence, and because the
district court’s application of the law to the facts without consideration of
USEIP’s conduct “cannot be remedied piecemeal,” we find that USEIP’s
dismissal affected the Voter Organizations’ substantial rights, the district
court’s error in dismissing USEIP is reversible, and a new trial as to all
defendants is warranted. Perkins v. Chris Hunt Water Hauling Contractor,
Inc., 46 F. App’x 903, 910 (10th Cir. 2002) 4 (remanding for a new trial for
all defendants after reversing summary judgment granted in favor of two
defendants accused of third-party negligence); Fed. R. Civ. P. 61; 28 U.S.C.
§ 2111.
4 We cite unpublished decisions for their persuasive value only and do
not treat them as binding precedent. 10th Cir. R. 32.1(A).
36
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 37
VI
We now turn to briefly address the remaining issues the Voter
Organizations raise in their appeal. Because we remand this case for a new
trial before the district court, we deem it proper to discuss and resolve the
remaining issues relating to evidentiary objections and sufficiency of the
evidence.
A
The Voter Organizations appeal the district court’s exclusion of a
video of Smith’s statements made at a public event in February 2022 where
he stated, “If you’re involved in election fraud you deserve to hang.
Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.” No. 24-1328, Aplt. App. at 286,
Ex. 8 at 0:35–0:50. This video was listed as exhibit 8 in the parties’ final list
of joint exhibits and was also listed in the pretrial order. The Individual
Defendants did not object to the admission of the video prior to trial.
“We review a court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion,
according ‘deference to a district court’s familiarity with the details of the
case and its greater experience in evidentiary matters.’” Frederick v. Swift
Transp. Co., 616 F.3d 1074, 1083 (10th Cir. 2010) (quoting Sprint/United
Mgmt. Co. v. Mendelsohn, 552 U.S. 379, 384 (2008)). We “will not reverse if
the district court’s ruling falls within the bounds of permissible choice in
the circumstances and is not arbitrary, capricious or whimsical.” United
37
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 38
States v. Durham, 902 F.3d 1180, 1222 (10th Cir. 2018) (quoting United
States v. Willis, 826 F.3d 1265, 1270 (10th Cir. 2016)).
When the Voter Organizations moved to admit the video during
Smith’s testimony, the Individual Defendants objected for lack of
foundation, authenticity, and hearsay. Instead of ruling on these objections,
the district court stated, “I don’t know anything about the video. . . . [L]et’s
just ask [Smith] what he said. . . . I’m not allowing you to show me the
video.” No. 24-1328, Aplt. App. at 136.
The Individual Defendants’ objections to the video were untimely
because they failed to object to the Voter Organizations’ pretrial disclosure
identifying the video as an exhibit. So, their untimely objections were
required to be excused for good cause before a court could consider them.
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3)(B). The Individual Defendants did not make
such a showing, nor did the district court make findings as to good cause or
waiver. That alone is sufficient to find an abuse of discretion in excluding
the video exhibit from evidence because the objections were waived. See,
e.g., Griffeth v. United States, 672 F. App’x 806, 813 (10th Cir. 2016).
However, putting the waiver aside, none of objections to the video
seem viable upon a review of the record. The Voter Organizations did
appear to lay sufficient foundation (or were building the foundation when
cut off by the district court) for the admission of the video as authentic when
38
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 39
they elicited testimony from Smith where he explained that he spoke
publicly about election integrity at the February 2022 event the video
captured. See Fed. R. Evid. 602, 901. And Smith’s statement would not have
been hearsay, as it was offered by the Voter Organizations against Smith
and his alleged co-conspirators, Kasun and Epp. See Fed. R. Evid.
801(d)(2)(A), (E). Given the insufficiency of the Individual Defendants’
objections, and Rule 26 waiver for their objections being untimely made, we
find that the exclusion of the video was an abuse of discretion.
B
The Voter Organizations appeal the district court’s determination in
its judgment on partial findings that Roberts’ testimony concerning
canvassers who came to her door did not establish any behavior that could
be objectively considered intimidating. The Voter Organizations also argue
that the district court legally erred when it failed to consider the political
context underlying the Individual Defendants’ actions.
We treat the appeal of the district court’s judgment on partial findings
“as a challenge to the factual and legal sufficiency of the district court’s
determinations based on all the evidence” and, thus, “review the district
court’s fact findings for clear error and its legal conclusions de novo.” Nieto
v. Kapoor, 268 F.3d 1208, 1217 (10th Cir. 2001). “If a view of the evidence
is permissible, that view cannot be clearly erroneous.” Ramos v. Bondi, 155
39
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 40
F.4th 1154, 1165 (10th Cir. 2025) (citation modified) (quoting Anderson v.
City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 574 (1985)).
Based upon the evidence presented at trial, we cannot say that the
district court’s findings as to Roberts’ testimony are clearly erroneous. She
testified that the canvassers who came to her door asked her personal
questions, including who lived in her household and how she submitted her
ballot, but that she refused to answer their questions and that the
canvassers left when she asked them to leave. She also testified that the
canvassers wore “badges” but that the badges looked “homemade.” Finally,
she testified that while she found the encounter intimidating, she wasn’t
deterred from voting again in the next election. The district court’s view
that the canvassers’ behavior wasn’t objectively intimidating is permissible
on this mixed record and was not clearly erroneous.
However, the Voter Organizations assert that the district court
applied an incorrect legal standard when it evaluated the sufficiency of its
evidence by failing to consider “the context in which the challenged acts
occurred.” Op. Br. at 51. We view this as similar to the Voter Organizations’
harmless error argument concerning the dismissal of USEIP.
Judgment on partial findings may only be granted when “a party has
been fully heard on an issue.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(c). As explained above,
USEIP’s dismissal from the case as a defendant narrowed the scope of the
40
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 41
evidence, including contextual evidence, that the district court considered,
so the Voter Organizations were not fully heard on the issue of whether
USEIP took any actions that constituted voter intimidation, rather than
whether Smith, Kasun, or Epp acted individually to intimidate voters. See
Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(c) advisory committee’s note to 1991 amendment (Rule
52(c) “authorizes the court to enter judgment at any time that it can
appropriately make a dispositive finding of fact on the evidence” (emphasis
added)); Finley v. United States, 123 F.3d 1342, 1349 (10th Cir. 1997) (en
banc) (remanding for new trial where plaintiff did not have opportunity to
adduce evidence to support his claim due to legal error in jury instructions);
Stuart v. Jackson, 24 F. App’x 943, 949 (10th Cir. 2001) (affirming denial of
defendant’s judgment as a matter of law made after plaintiff’s opening
statements because plaintiff had not received opportunity to present
evidence). Given that the Voter Organizations were not fully heard at trial,
we therefore also reverse the district court’s grant of judgment on partial
findings for the Individual Defendants. Whether and how the trial evidence
on remand may be presented, admitted into evidence, and considered to
make findings is left to the sound discretion of the district court.
VII
Following the district court’s judgment on partial findings, the
Individual Defendants moved for fees under § 1985 and the VRA, both of
41
Appellate Case: 24-1328 Document: 91-1 Date Filed: 07/06/2026 Page: 42
which allow for a fee award to the prevailing party. See 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b);
52 U.S.C. § 10310(e). They also moved for fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1927,
which provides for an award of fees against an attorney who “multiplies the
proceedings in any case unreasonably and vexatiously.” The district court
denied their motion, which the Individual Defendants separately appealed
in Appeal No. 25-1111. Because we vacate the district court’s final judgment
and remand for further proceedings, we dismiss Appeal No. 25-1111 as
moot.
***
We REVERSE the district court’s order granting summary judgment
to USEIP and dismissing it from the case, REVERSE the district court’s
order granting judgment on partial findings in favor of the Individual
Defendants, VACATE the district court’s final judgment, and REMAND for
further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We DISMISS the
Individual Defendants’ appeal from the district court’s denial of its request
for fees as moot.
42