Cite as: 513 U. S. 454 (1995)
Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting
fied employees in politics as party officers or workers," there was no constitutional objection, id., at 99.
More than 25 years later, we again addressed the constitutionality of § 9(a) of the Hatch Act. In Civil Service Comm'n v. Letter Carriers, 413 U. S. 548 (1973), we "unhesitatingly reaffirm[ed] the Mitchell holding," id., at 556, because "neither the First Amendment nor any other provision of the Constitution invalidate[d] a law barring this kind of partisan political conduct by federal employees," ibid. We applied the balancing approach set forth in Pickering to the Hatch Act's sweeping limitation on partisan political activity, and determined that the balance struck by Congress was "sustainable by the obviously important interests sought to be served by the limitations on partisan political activities now contained in the Hatch Act." 413 U. S., at 564. We concluded that "[p]erhaps Congress at some time w[ould] come to a different view of the realities of political life and Government service," but we were in no position to dispute Congress' current view of the matter. Id., at 567.
Although protection of employees from pressure to perform political chores certainly was a concern of the Hatch Act, see ante, at 471, it was by no means the only, or even the most important, concern.2 See Letter Carriers, supra, at 566. Rather, the Court recognized that a major thesis of the Hatch Act was that
"to serve this great end of Government—the impartial execution of the laws—it is essential that federal employees . . . not take formal positions in political parties, not undertake to play substantial roles in partisan political campaigns, and not run for office on partisan political tickets. Forbidding activities like these will reduce the
2 Prior to the Hatch Act, Congress had prohibited Civil Service employees from " 'us[ing] [their] official authority or influence to coerce the political action of any person or body.' " Mitchell, supra, at 79-80, n. 4 (quoting Civil Service Act, ch. 27, § 2, 22 Stat. 404).
493
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