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Access to places: Access to election polling places

Several states have exit-polling laws that prohibit reporters from interviewing voters within specified distances of voting places. But a federal court found the Washington state exit-polling law unconstitutional because it had been passed specifically to prevent the media from projecting the outcome of elections.¹⁰ A Minnesota judge struck down an exit-poll statute forbidding reporters to question voters about ballot issues as a content-based restriction on speech about governmental affairs.¹¹ Although Florida's Supreme Court said the state generally had the power to deny access to polling places in order to prevent disruptions, the court found that officials had not substantiated their claims that exit polling actually disrupted voting.¹²

Notes

10. Daily Herald v. Munro, 838 F.2d 380 (9th Cir. 1988).

11. CBS Inc. v. Growe, 15 Med.L.Rep. 2275 (D. Minn. 1988), see also National Broadcasting Co. v. Cleland, 697 F.Supp. 1204 (N.D. Ga. 1988), CBS Inc. v. Smith, 681 F. Supp. 794 (S.D. Fla. 1988), National Broadcasting Co. v. Colburg, 699 F. Supp. 241 (D. Mont. 1988), Journal Broadcasting of Kentucky v. Logsdon, No. C88-0147-L(A) (W.D. Ky. Oct. 24, 1988), National Broadcasting Co. v. Karpan, N. C88-0320-B (D. Wyo. Oct. 21, 1988), Charleston Television Inc. v. Charleston County Election Commission, No. 88-CP-10-4860 (S.C. Sup. Ct. Nov. 7, 1988).

12. Firestone v. News-Press Publishing Co., 538 So.2d 457 (Fla. 1989).

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