On Thursday, June 14, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Minnesota Voters Alliance v Mansky, 16-1435. Here is the opinion. The vote was 7-2.

Minnesota does not let anyone wear any “political badge, political button, or other political insignia” at the polls. The Court concluded this law is too vague, and too far-reaching, to be consistent with the freedom of speech clause in the First Amendment. The opinion suggests that a better law is California’s law, which only bans “the visible display…of information that advocates for or against any candidate or measure.”

The Minnesota lawsuit had been filed after some voters were told they could not wear buttons saying, “Please I.D. me.” Another plaintiff-voter was told he could not wear a T-shirt mentioning the Tea Party. The lower courts had upheld the law.

The dissent does not defend the Minnesota law, but says the U.S. Supreme Court should have sent the case to the Minnesota state courts to determine whether the state courts might construe the state law to be less restrictive.