Supreme Court throws out Minnesota ban on voter political apparel

States cannot impose a blanket prohibition on apparel such as T-shirts and buttons bearing political messages in polling sites, the U.S. Supreme Court said on Thursday in an important free speech ruling striking down a Minnesota law as unconstitutional. The court ruled 7-2 that Minnesota's law, which dates back to 1912 and was intended to maintain decorum at polling sites, went too far in banning voters from wearing political apparel - without even defining what is meant by "political." But the justices left room for states to craft some sort of limits on what should be allowed in polling places and what should not.