Election Integrity
Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky
What the court held
The United States Supreme Court held that Minnesota's ban on political badges, buttons, and other political insignia inside polling places violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. The Court concluded that the statute's indeterminate 'political' standard was incapable of reasoned application by election officials. The judgment upholding the ban was reversed and the case returned for further proceedings.
What it means
A state may keep polling places orderly, but when it restricts what voters can wear or say there, it has to draw lines that officials can apply evenhandedly. Minnesota's standard left too much to the judgment of individual election workers.
For voters and civic organizations, the decision means the polling place does not suspend the First Amendment: restrictions on passive political expression must rest on workable, objective terms.
Decided on the merits by the United States Supreme Court on June 14, 2018. The judgment below was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings.