Case Categories: Election Regulations and Ballot Access

• Anderson v. Celebrezze (1983)

  Anderson v. Celebrezze (1983) struck down on First Amendment grounds a state law that imposed early filing requirements for an independent presidential...

• Brown v. Hartlage (1982)

  Brown v. Hartlage (1982) struck down a decision invalidating an election of a candidate who retracted a promise. The Court said political candidates had First...

• Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation (1999)

  Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation (1999) struck down Colorado’s requirements that people circulating ballot petitions be registered voters and...

• Burdick v. Takushi (1992)

  Burdick v. Takushi (1992) upheld a ban on write-in voting. The Court ruled that such bans do not violate First Amendment rights of free expression and political...

• Burson v. Freeman (1992)

  Burson v. Freeman (1992) upheld a law providing for a “campaign free zone” around polling places. It is rare that a law limiting First Amendment rights...

• California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000)

  California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000) invalidated a state law that changed political primaries into “open” primaries. The Court based its decision on...

• Clingman v. Beaver (2005)

  Clingman v. Beaver (2005) upheld a state law requiring semi-closed primaries for political parties. The Libertarian Party said the law violated the First...

• Democratic Party of United States v. Wisconsin ex rel. LaFollette (1981)

  Democratic Party of United States v. Wisconsin (1981) ruled that laws dictating how delegates vote at national conventions violate the First Amendment rights of...

• Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee (1989)

  Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee (1989) said California’s regulation of political parties' operations violated their members’ First...

• Gerende v. Board of Supervisors of Elections of Baltimore (1951)

  In Gerende v. Board of Supervisors of Elections of Baltimore, the court upheld a Maryland requirement that all candidates seeking access to the ballot must take...

• Illinois State Board of Elections v. Socialist Workers Party (1979)

  Illinois State Board of Elections v. Socialist Workers Party (1979) struck down a law requiring more signatures to qualify for the Chicago ballot than for a...

• Jenness v. Fortson (1971)

  Jenness v. Fortson (1971), the Court upheld a Georgia law requiring minor-party candidates to obtain the signatures of 5 percent of eligible voters on their...

• John Doe #1 v. Reed (2010)

  In Doe No. 1 v. Reed (2010), the Court upheld a state law requiring the disclosure of referendum signers and ruled that the law on its face does not violate the...

• Meyer v. Grant (1988)

  Meyer v. Grant (1988) invalidated a provision of a Colorado statute that made it a felony to pay people circulating petitions to include initiatives on state...

• Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky (2018)

  A Minnesota law that prohibited wearing political apparel at polling places was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court as violating the First Amendment...

• Munro v. Socialist Workers Party (1986)

  Munro v. Socialist Workers Party (1986) considered whether ballot access restrictions placed on minor party candidates violated rights protected by the First...

• Norman v. Reed (1992)

  Norman v. Reed (1992) struck down a state law requiring minor political parties to obtain 25,000 signatures to appear on the ballot, finding it violated the...

• Republican Party of Minnesota v. White (2002)

  Republican Party of Minnesota v. White (2002) said a rule prohibiting judicial candidates from announcing their views on controversial issues violated the First...

• Storer v. Brown (1974)

  Storer v. Brown (1974) said a California law requiring disaffiliation of independent candidates who wanted to be on the ballot did not violate the First...

• Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus (2014)

  Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus (2014) upheld standing for a group who said an Ohio law that criminalized false statements during a campaign violated the...

• Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut (1986)

  Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut (1986) decided that states cannot impose a closed primary system because it denies political parties their First...

• Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party (1997)

  Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party (1997) dismissed constitutional claims that so-called fusion ballots are protected by the First Amendment freedom of...

• Williams v. Rhodes (1968)

  In Williams v. Rhodes (1968), the Supreme Court said a ballot access rule in Ohio violated the First Amendment and placed too heavy a burden on third-party...

• Zwickler v. Koota (1967)

  Zwickler v. Koota (1967) overturned a district court ruling that had turned down an appeal against a law criminalizing distribution of anonymous handbills...