COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIANA et al. v. WHITCOMB, GOVERNOR OF INDIANA, et al.

Action

Reversed. Petitioning party received a favorable disposition.

Facts/Syllabus

The application of appellants (the Communist Party of Indiana, certain of its officers and potential voters, and its candidates for President and Vice President) for a place on the Indiana ballot for the 1972 general election was rejected for failure to submit a statutory loyalty oath stating that the Party "does not advocate the overthrow of local, state or national government by force or violence." Appellants, contending that the statute was unconstitutional, thereupon filed this action in the District Court for injunctive and declaratory relief.