Friday, June 17, 2011

SCOTUS: Voting is not protected free speech

We read:
"The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that state ethics rules that bar public officials from voting on matters because of a conflict of interest do not violate free-speech rights.

In a decision that highlighted the nation's history of preventing officials from participating because of personal conflicts, the justices reversed a Nevada Supreme Court decision that said voting in council meetings or other legislative arenas was protected by the First Amendment."

Source

Conflict of interest rules are probably a good thing but voting would seem to be a form of speech.

3 comments:

Liz said...

This is not a violation of free speech. It is the same as a judge recusing themselves for possible bias. I'm with Scalia on this:

Scalia said that when a public official votes, "he does so not as an individual but as a political representative engaged in the legislative process. Acting in that capacity, his vote is not his own speech but a mechanical function of government."

Anonymous said...

Right. This has nothing to do with how they cast their individual votes in local/state/national elections, because that would most definitely be a 1st Amendment issue. This is only for when they are voting on policy on behalf of their constituents.

Anonymous said...

"but voting would seem to be a form of speech."

If that's the case, what act (is not) a form of free speech?