John C. Frank v. Debra Lee, in Her Official Capacity as Laramie County Clerk, et al.

Wyoming prohibits electioneering within 300 feet of any public entrance to a polling place while voting is being conducted on the day of a primary, general or special election. These no-electioneering buffer zones extend 200 feet further than those upheld in Burson v. Freeman and create areas of censorship that are 282,743 square feet, nine times larger than the zone upheld by this Court and most zones that account for the “long history” and “widespread and time-tested consensus” of such regulations. 504 U.S. 191, 203–04, 206, 211 (1992); App.87-91. The court below ruled that the Wyoming law is reasonable and does not significantly impinge upon free speech, even with its regulation of the size and quantity of candidate bumper stickers that may pass through or park in a buffer zone. The panel reasoned that to extend a buffer zone beyond 100 feet the government need not make any showing of necessity or reasonableness until it “effect[s] [a] complete ban[ ] on election-related conduct.” App.33. The questions presented are: Whether the Tenth Circuit erred in upholding Wyoming’s 300-foot election day buffer zone without requiring the state to meet any burden to support the law. Whether the Tenth Circuit erred in upholding Wyoming’s prohibition of certain candidate bumper stickers within 300 feet of a polling place on election day.