The Socialist Labor Party et al. v. Gilligan, Governor of Ohio, et al., 1971 case was a dispute over the constitutionality of an Ohio law that required new political parties and independent candidates to file their nominating petitions 75 days before the primary election in order to appear on the general election ballot. The Socialist Labor Party argued this deadline violated their First Amendment rights as it effectively excluded them from participating in elections due to its early filing requirement. However, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision which ruled in favor of Ohio stating that states have a legitimate interest in regulating elections to ensure they are fair and orderly. Therefore, such regulations do not necessarily infringe upon First Amendment rights if they serve these purposes.

In the dissenting opinion for the case Socialist Labor Party et al. v. Gilligan, Governor of Ohio, et al., Justice Douglas argued that Ohio's election laws were unconstitutional because they violated First Amendment rights to free speech and association by imposing burdensome requirements on new political parties seeking ballot access. He contended that these restrictions effectively silenced minority voices and stifled political innovation by making it difficult for new or smaller parties to participate in elections. Furthermore, he believed this was a form of discrimination against those who wished to express their views through a different party structure than the two dominant ones at the time - Democrats and Republicans. In his view, such limitations contradicted democratic principles as they limited voters' choices and hindered robust public debate.