Supreme Court accepts review in PLF’s First Amendment case!
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States granted PLF’s petition for certiorari in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, a First Amendment challenge to a Minnesota law that bans political apparel at the polling place. Minnesota interprets “political” broadly. Voters who wear shirts with any message that can possibly be associated with a political viewpoint face criminal sanctions and civil penalties. Under the State’s policy, it’s illegal to wear shirts that carry the logos of the Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, NAACP, and many more. The law violates the First Amendment because it is facially overbroad. The Supreme Court has already held that the government is not allowed to ban all speech, and create virtual speech-free zones at places like airports. Here, Minnesota has created a speech-free zone at the polling place, and speech-free zones violate the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court will likely hear the case in the spring. You can read more about this case on our website.
The press conference is at 11am central time on Tuesday in Room 181, State Office Building, 100 Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55155.
