Judge Throws Out Fla. Exit Poll Limit

[wakeme2008]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Florida-Exit-Polls.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

October 24, 2006
Judge Throws Out Fla. Exit Poll Limit
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 4:45 p.m. ET

MIAMI (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a Florida law that prohibits exit polling within 100 feet of a voting place, finding there was no evidence that such surveys were disruptive or threatened access to voting.

U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck said the law was unconstitutional and ordered state officials not to enforce it in the Nov. 7 election. He left intact the 100-foot limit for other activities such as distributing campaign material or peddling.

..more at link...

[ourbluenation]

1. kids - if you rec without kicking, it disappears into the eather. K & R

+

[kimmerspixelated]

2. This reeks of foul play.

Why make it a law, if they didn't plan on messing with it?!

[kster]

3. kick n rec.nt

[valerief]

4. Wow. This could only be an advantage to Dems. Or else it's an

even bigger advantage to Rethugs. Hmm. What gives? Certainly not democracy from the courts.

[w4rma]

5. Good. They wont be able to mess with the vote totals as much in Florida. nt

[Canuckistanian]

6. And who made that law? Wait, don't tell me...

BTW, here in Canada, ALL campaigning must stop on election day. Even handing out campaign materials.

[Nevernose]

17. They passed a similar, and unenforceable, law here

Campaign signs were getting to be a nuisance for people -- who, I'm not sure, since apparently some people are offended at just having to look at signs -- so the local governments started passing ordinances. That's three different cities, plus the county (in which most residents actually live), all with different laws about when a candidate has to pull down signs.

The unenforceable part? There's not actually any law on the books that says when a campaign BEGINS? So that sign you have up on the first Wednesday in November that you didn't pull down? That's the first sign in the NEXT election, not the one we had yesterday. Half-assed lawmaking all the way.

[Canuckistanian]

20. And you can't challenge it because of 1st Amendment, right?

It's kind of campaign time all the time in America, isn't it? Only that one year after a presidential election is really quiet. After that, it's primaries, mid-terms, gubernatorial races, caucuses....

It never really ends, does it?

[Boo Boo]

7. FL is not the only State that has enacted such laws

Can't remember which State it was I recently read about, but it was the exact same thing---no exit polling within a certain distance. Don't know how much more obvious it can get. There has been exit polling for decades in this country, a standard feature of our election process. Now, suddenly, they're no longer accurate, Republicans want to legislate against them...

Suppressing exit polling suppresses evidence of a crime.

[Greeby]

8. In Britain, the TV news goes into total political lockdown on Election Day

They cannot say ONE word that could even slightly be construed as favouring a party or candidate, until the polls close. So they just stick with the shots of party leaders and their families going in to vote.

If that were the case in America, FoxNews would have to transmit a test pattern for the whole day :evilgrin:

[LiberalFighter]

15. If it could bankrupt them all the better

[NMMNG]

22. Yeah, because it's not like Faux actually broadcasts NEWS, is it

:rofl:

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. Good news

It's bad enough they only poll the most conservative precincts anyway.

But even a biased poll is better then nothing.

[ktowntennesseedem]

10. Kicked AND recommended.

Well, actually I recommended, then kicked.

:kick:

[eFriendly]

11. K&R

[bluestateguy]

12. Activist judges legislating from the bench

and I approve.

[achtung_circus]

13. Kickety.

[drm604]

14. K&R

:kick:

[gristy]

16. Excellent!

[cosmicdot]

18. fwiw, Huck was a Clinton appointee n/m

[Lugnut]

19. K&R n/t

[Spiffarino]

21. Go judge!

Nice to see the Constitution isn't just a g--damn piece of paper to some people.

K&R :kick:

[Cobalt Violet]

23. K & R.

[Subdivisions]

24. K&R. Hey, does the restriction of campaign materials within

100 feet of the polls apply to my Impeach Bush & Cheney T-shirt? I'm wearing it anyways, but just curious.

[greeneyedboy]

28. they're not running this time, right? :-)

[Ezekiel in Exile]

25. The fight will BEGIN November 8.

Listen to what the Republicans are saying now. John Fund has joined Kate O'Beirne in predicting that control of the House will turn on contested elections and litigation. That meme has been picked up by Barone at USNWR, who predicts a 219-216 Dem majority, but one that could be overturned by turncoat Dems or election contests.

I wrote a piece last week about how Karen Haas, current Clerk of the House, could turn out to be the next Katharine Harris because of the way the Constitution, federal law and House rules structure the election of a new Speaker.

I hope the Dems are more prepared for this than they were in '00 and '04.

[NotGivingUp]

26. this had to be the repukes...tell me...just WHERE did these

utterly pitiful excuses for human beings come from, any way???!! They make me sick.

[Ian_rd]

27. Destroying the exit polls is the next logical step in stealing elections

Good ruling. Kudos to the judges.

[byronius]

29. K & R.

[McCamy Taylor]

30. Blackwell tried this in Ohio 2004! At 100 feet Exit Polls are worthless!

When a state tries to keep exit pollsters 100 feet away from the polls this is a SURE sign that someone intends to hack the vote and that the exit polls will not match the vote tally. By making exit pollsters stay 100 feet away, the election officials can say "Well, it must be the exit polls that are wromg. They should too far away!"