On November 17, the Marion County Election Board stipulated that two particular Indiana election laws are unconstitutional, and U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker signed a Final Judgment that no one in the future may enforce code sections 3-14-1-2(a)(2) and (3).

In 2012, the plaintiff-candidate, Zachary Mulholland, was a candidate for State Representative in the Democratic primary for an Indianapolis seat. The party did not endorse him and had endorsed his only Democratic opponent. Mulholland still campaigned, hoping to win the May Democratic primary. But his campaign literature, which pictured President Obama, and the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, and the incumbent member of the U.S. House (Democrat Andre Carson), and himself, was confiscated.

The reason for the confiscation was section 3-14-1-2(a)(2), which says, “A person who prints on a slate during a primary election campaign the name or number of a candidate without the candidate’s written consent, commits a Class A misdemeanor.” Mulholland had not said or implied in his campaign literature that any of the other Democrats mentioned by him had endorsed him. But because the politicians shown in his campaign literature had not given him signed statements letting him use their names and pictures, he was guilty of a crime. He argued that the law violates the First Amendment, and the county stipulated that he is correct. See this story.

A similar law, 3-14-1-2(a)(3), was also enjoined. It says when the written permission to mention and show candidates is obtained, it must be filed with the county election board.