CLC Successfully Defends Political Speech of Civic Engagement Groups in Court

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Nonpartisan civic engagement groups that help voters engage in the political process are essential to our democracy. These groups ensure that all voters are able to register to vote and make their voices heard.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has been instrumental in upholding this time-honored democratic tradition, most recently by defeating a Kansas law that would have made it more difficult for civic engagement groups to engage in nonpartisan civic engagement practices such as mail voting education and assistance.  

Learn more about the importance of civic engagement organizations here.

In 2021, CLC, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Kansas attorney Mark Johnson filed a lawsuit representing a nonprofit group, the Voter Participation Center, in a challenge to House Bill (HB) 2332. This law prohibited out-of-state groups from mailing personalized advance mail-in voting applications to any voter in the state.  

CLC argued that voter engagement efforts, such as mailing personalized advance mail-in ballot applications, constitute core political speech under the First Amendment. The district court agreed.  

In 2023, CLC won this lawsuit against the state. When the state appealed the court’s decision, the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned the case back to the district court for further consideration. Just recently, we secured yet another victory for civic engagement groups in the district court which found, again, that the restrictions in HB 2332 violate the First Amendment by stifling free speech.

This decision affirms what the Constitution makes clear: Encouraging voter participation is protected First Amendment speech. The right to speak up is fundamentally American and guaranteed by the Constitution, and Campaign Legal Center is proud to defend Americans’ right to free speech in court.

Our democracy is strongest when every voter can participate. The civic-minded organizations and volunteers who help Americans vote should be supported, not punished.

With your help, Campaign Legal Center will continue to defend the nonpartisan organizations that keep our democracy robust. 

Emily is a Communications Associate at CLC.
Madeleine is a Communications Associate at CLC.
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We are defending civic engagement groups