Networks, AP, Sue Minnesota over Restriction on Exit Pollsters
September 30th, 2008On September 29, the Associated Press, the TV networks, and the Edison-Mitofsky Company sued the Minnesota Secretary of State over a law passed this year that bars exit pollsters within 100 feet of any building which houses a polling station. Minnesota is the only state with such a restriction on exit pollsters.
The exit polling company and the TV networks always win these cases. Earlier this year they sued South Dakota and won; South Dakota didn’t even contest the case, but merely gave in. Thanks to Ed Still’s VoteLawBlog for this news.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Uh, not so. At least one other state has such a restriction.
Colorado has such a restriction, since 1993, in CRS 1-5-105-1:
No election-related activity shall be conducted within one hundred feet of any building in which a polling place is located except that of the conduct of the election at the polling place.
Source: current Colorado Revised Statutes
September 30th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Texas also has this law regarding 100ft
September 30th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Michael and/or brad, have either of those restrictions been challenged in court? The point in the post is that the networks/polling companies win when the laws are challeneged: if neither of these have been challenged, then that point would be accurate.
September 30th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Exit polling isn’t considered “election-related”. That may sound peculiar, but that’s how it has been interpreted. Exit pollsters in Texas and Colorado are not bound by those laws.
September 30th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
The concern in Minnesota was probably, for better or for the worse, questions of voter intimidation.
I am not sure if it was supported by a current, new Secretary of State or the former Secretary of State. I would prefer to think it was the later, but who knows.
If they almost always lose in court, then I suspect the MN law will as well.
September 30th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
The Texas law is against electioneering for or against a candidate, measure, or party; or “loitering”. I doubt that the loitering provision is particularly easy to enforce.
October 1st, 2008 at 10:10 am
Actually, Richard, they *are* bound by it in CO. In 2002 one of our Congressional candidates did exactly that and both he and his pollsters were told they had to be past the 100-foot line. I was one of those pollsters.
October 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am
Alex, AFAIK, the CO law has not been challenged, and the Lexis NExus site that lists the CRS lists relevant court rulings on each section, and there is nothing there on it.