IN JUNE, PLF scored one of the biggest First Amendment wins in recent years with our victory in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky (MVA). In MVA, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a broad ban on political apparel at the polling place. The Minnesota law at issue prohibited voters from wearing t-shirts featuring the logo of groups with “recognizable political views”—including groups like PLF, the ACLU, and even Ben and Jerry’s. PLF, representing a voter who was censured for wearing a Tea Party t-shirt, secured a sweeping victory for free speech.
The Supreme Court’s decision is a boon for the First Amendment rights of all Americans—in polling places and beyond. Before MVA, courts routinely declined to vindicate the First Amendment rights of voters. Lower courts ruled against Minnesota Voters Alliance five times before PLF stepped in to take the case, claiming that Minnesota’s restrictions on speech were “reasonable.” But as the Supreme Court made clear, the reasonableness standard doesn’t allow courts to rubber-stamp laws that restrict speech, and the free speech rights of Americans do not end at the polling place.
The Supreme Court’s decision is a boon for the First Amendment rights of all Americans—in polling places and beyond.
Many states still have bans on campaign apparel. In Texas, officials arrested a 55-year-old voter because he went to vote in a “basket of deplorables” t-shirt that parodied Hillary Clinton’s remarks at a 2016 fundraising event. In other states, poll workers flagged voters for wearing Massachusetts Institute of Technology shirts because the “MIT” logos were construed as support for Mitt Romney in the 2012 election. After MVA, voters who are harassed for passively expressing core political speech can call on the courts for help.
The decision in MVA is also significant beyond the polling place. The Court noted that broadly worded laws give government officials unbridled discretion to suppress speech they don’t like. Speech codes on college campuses, for example, subject students to discipline if they utter words that an official perceives as “demeaning” or “bothersome.” Liberal administrators might apply this vague term in a way that suppresses conservative speech and vice versa.
After MVA, it’s clear that these laws raise serious First Amendment concerns. It’s just as clear that PLF will defend the First Amendment rights of all Americans—at polling places, on college campuses, and beyond.