Five scary threats to free speech

As election season and Halloween creep closer, concerns about free speech are growing like shadows after sunset. But when it comes to free speech, we cannot let anyone scare us into silence. A democracy without free expression is a graveyard for ideas.

1. Fourteen states conjure bans on ballot selfies

FIRE just filed a lawsuit in North Carolina to fight this unconstitutional rule. Susan Hogarth posted a photo of her ballot on her X account during the primaries back in March, and it wasn’t long before officials demanded she take the photo down. Despite the threat of possible jail time and fines, Susan refused to comply. 

Rules like this are on the books in 14 states. But FIRE believes that not only do you have the right to vote, but you have the right to take a photo of that vote.

If an American is proud of who they fill in the bubble for on the ballot, they should be allowed to show it. 

Luckily, Susan isn’t backing down. After the court ordered prosecutors not to charge her for ballot selfies while her case is pending, she expressed her enthusiasm for voting once more by taking a selfie at an early voting site this week.

2. States launch witch hunt against trick-or-treating

This Halloween as you take your kids trick-or-treating, you likely aren’t thinking about the First Amendment. But you should be.

Going door-to-door to “solicit” — whether for money, votes, or candy — is First Amendment-protected speech. That includes everyone from Mormon missionaries to kids in Halloween costumes.

The First Amendment protects your right to trick or treat

News

Don’t be a free speech ogre on Halloween. Dressing up in costumes and asking for candy are constitutionally protected forms of free expression.

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Wearing costumes is also a form of speech protected against government censorship. Costumes are often used to comment on political or social issues, especially in an election year. But some towns still place restrictions on trick-or-treating — with some even setting age limits and making it illegal for teenagers to go trick-or-treating. 

Until 2019, the town of Chesapeake, Virginia, threatened teenagers with up to six months in jail for trick-or-treating. The town repealed the law in the face of a backlash, but last year NPR reported that teenage trick-or-treating was still a misdemeanor there. And one town in Illinois not only forbids anyone above the eighth grade from trick-or-treating, but requires anyone over 12 to get permission from the mayor or chief of police to wear a mask on a day other than Halloween.

Like a “ghoul in a late night horror movie,” these zombie laws seem to never truly die. 

Read more on FIRE’s Newsdesk.

3. Trump howls against flag burning — threatens jail sentences

At a rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, former President Donald Trump reanimated an idea to jail Americans for a year if they burn the U.S. flag.

“And as long as the Speaker of the House of Representatives is here, I would like to put forward a bill because I watched two months ago as some very bad people, radical left people, by the way, nothing happened to them in Washington, D.C., burned our American flags,” he said. “And I would like to suggest that we put in a bill. If you burn the American flag one year in jail.”

Seconds later he added that he “will restore free speech” unaware of — or unconcerned about — the contradiction.

Trump’s call to jail Americans for burning the flag is totally inconsistent with free speech. In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot punish flag burning in service of protecting national symbols. Put simply, our rights are more important than a flag. 

FIRE’s FAQ on the issue answers all your burning questions.

4. College campuses nationwide haunted by lack of free expression

FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings includes some bone-chilling findings about the state of free expression.

One-third of students reported that using violence to stop a campus speech is at least “rarely” acceptable, up from 27% last year and 20% two years ago. Almost 7 in 10 said it is at least “rarely” acceptable for other students to shout down a speaker, up from 63% last year.

And more than half of students — 55% — find it difficult to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on campus. This is a record high for any issue since the rankings began. 

The bottom five colleges for free speech include Barnard College, the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Columbia University, and Harvard University.

See how your favorite schools stack up.

5. Penn State kidnaps the news, sucks the life out of free speech

On Sept. 18, administrators at Penn State removed 35 newstands containing copies of The Daily Collegian, the university’s independent student newspaper. Penn State claimed it removed the newsstands because poster-sized ads on the stands — three for Kamala Harris and six for voter registration — violated university policies restricting “commercial sales activities.”

Penn State stifles student newspaper, prohibits voter registration in brazen display of rights abuses before general election

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This election season, Pennsylvania State University appears to be unleashing its own October Surprise — against its students.

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But Penn State didn’t stop there. FIRE and the ACLU of Pennsylvania received complaints that Penn State is unconstitutionally prohibiting students from engaging in election-related political speech on campus, including voter registration and canvassing. 

Newspaper theft by state actors (such as state university officials) is an egregious violation of the First Amendment. Moreover, protecting political speech such as voter registration efforts is at the heart of the First Amendment. 

FIRE will fight that censorship every step of the way. Join us — FIRE makes it easy!

You can stand up for free speech rights at Penn State. 

Send an email to Penn State’s president today, urging the university to clean up its act and recommit to freedom of expression.

The vampires of censorship are lurking. But free speech is a stake through the heart of tyranny. Remember to stay safe out there. Happy Halloween, everyone.