In Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, published June 14, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed an Eighth Circuit decision upholding a Minnesota law prohibiting individuals from wearing a political badge, political button, or other political insignia inside a polling place. The Court held that a polling place is a nonpublic forum for First Amendment purposes. Therefore, the First Amendment permits the state to regulate speech there based on content, so long as the restrictions are reasonable and not an effort to suppress expression merely because public officials oppose the speaker's views. The statute does not make a distinction based on the speaker's views. It must therefore only be reasonable in light of the purpose served by the forum: Voting. A restriction on political apparel serves the legitimate purpose of protecting voters from fraud, intimidation, and confusion. But the term "political" is too indefinite to provide a reasonable guideline on what is permitted and what is excluded. By contrast, other states--including California--have more definite restrictions on political apparel.
Dissenting justices would have sent the law to the Minnesota State Courts to interpret it.
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