Burson v. Freeman — Stevens, J., dissenting

Summary

Justice Stevens, joined by Justices O’Connor and Souter, dissented from the judgment upholding Tennessee’s campaign-free zone. He concluded that the statute directly and content selectively burdened core political speech, and that Tennessee had not shown the restriction necessary or narrowly tailored to protect orderly access to the polls. Justice Scalia and Justice Kennedy each concurred in the judgment on separate grounds, treating the restriction as constitutional under different approaches to forum analysis and content-based regulation.