Court: OK to block press from polling sites [View all]
Source: Politico
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that preventing reporters and photographers from entering active polling places is constitutional, saying that a Pennsylvania law to that effect does not violate the First Amendment rights of the press.
The case, PG Publishing Co. v. Aichele, brought by the parent company of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, challenged a state law that said all persons aside from select officials, voters and those giving assistance to voters must remain 10 feet away from a polling place during voting. The Post-Gazette sued after it said its reporters were barred from observing voting sign-in in Allegheny and Beaver Counties, an issue they said was especially important in light of new voter ID laws taking effect that election cycle.
The Post-Gazette argued the media’s right to enter a polling place is protected by the First Amendment and sought a consent decree giving them polling place access. The district court refused, and the circuit court held, 3-0, that the First Amendment does not grant the press access to voting venues – which it ruled are a “nonpublic forum.”
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The court held that because voting is traditionally considered a secret activity, and because the likely harm of letting the press into a polling place in terms of disruption of voting outweighs the potential public good, under the “experience and logic” test voting places are not considered public forums.
Read more:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2013/01/court-ok-to-block-press-from-polling-sites-154479.html?hp=r2
So, what will happen in the inevitable appeal?
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