Constitutional Law Case Brief

Constitutional Law Case Brief
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Constitutional Law Case Brief
MINNESOTA VOTERS ALLIANCE V. MANSKY
Style: Minnesota Voters Alliance, et al., Petitioners v. Joe Mansky, et al.
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Date published: June 14, 2018
Facts: Few days before the November 2010 elections, Minnesota Voters Alliance (MVA) and several other individuals petitioned to challenge a Minnesota law that banned people, including voters, from wearing attires or in possession of any item with political signs or opinions inside polling stations on an Election Day. The law (political apparel ban) restricted all clothing and accessories with politically-opinionated signs or messages. The petitioners claimed that the "political apparel ban" violated their First Amendment rights. The state responded to the lawsuit by distributing an Election Day Policy to all election officials with guidelines for enforcing the ban. On Election Day, several voters clashed with election officials for turning up in polling stations with the already prohibited items and accessories. Among them was Andrew Cilek (a petitioner) who was denied access for wearing a “Please I.D. Me” button, and a T-shirt with a Tea Party Patriots log and a “Don’t Tread on Me” print. According to the petitioners, both requirements of the ban and its implementation are unconstitutional. The District Court granted the State’s motion to dismiss. The 8th Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the facial challenge and remanded the case for further proceedings on the as-applied challenge. The State on the as-applied challenge received a summary judgment from the District Court, and the 8th Circuit affirmed. The Minnesota Voters Alliance...