"Church Polling Place is Unconstitutional" Says Suit

[SSanf]

(Washington, DC, December 7, 2006) Interest has grown steadily since the American Humanist Association (AHA) launched the first nontheistic legal center in the nation's capital, the Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC), by filing what has become a controversial church-state separation case. The litigation emerged as a result of practices during the recent midterm elections as monitored by thousands of AHA members nationwide.

Churches are the most common polling locations in America. Some churches cover their religious symbols at this time out of respect for the principle of government neutrality on religion. But not all do so. Humanists decided it was time to learn to what extent religious proselytizing took place at the polls. "We put out a call to our members whose polling places were churches, asking them to report what they saw," said AHA President Mel Lipman, speaking at a Washington DC press conference on November 29. "The response was shocking." .

[Shanti]

I didnt know that churches were used for polling locations. Every district I have lived its either been the public library or city hall!
This is news to me and I am glad its not at a church here. I wouldn't like that.

If I was a catholic and followed my teachings from attending parochial school for all of my elementary years, I would only be allowed to step foot in a catholic church. I was taught entering any other church was a sin against the catholic church. St. Stanislaus taught us the rules of the church, kinda like the ten commandments. The sin against the church commandments was as bad as the sin against the ten commandments. So even if I followed the teachings I was given I wouldn't be able to vote if it wasn't held in a catholic church.

So this could affect some traditional fundie catholics.

Separation of all state affairs from religion does serve all people. :)

[SSanf]

Oh, and I could just see Muslims going into a church to vote!

[Sharedaughter]

Many of the places I've lived, the polling place has been the school. Where I live now, that is very convenient, because it is right across the street.

The first time I ever voted the polling place was a school. That makes sense to me.

Glo

[Renny]

I really dont care, I live in virginia and the place I went to in the 04 election was a church. Nobody there tried to preach, nobody even brought up religion. So I really dont see why its a big deal, its just a church and I dont think it has much of an impact on voting

[Xander67]

I agree, it is just a building, you walk in, they check your ID (supposedly) :)
you cast your vote... and then you leave... well... after a quick stop at the snack table for a piece of cake and cuppa coffee...

yes, the place I went to was a church, and it had a snack table, and there was no one there tying to push any religion on me because that would be a violation of the seperation of church and state...

voting is a matter where it is monitored by officials, politicians, etc... not priests...
unless they are undercover , spies sent from the Vatican itself to make sure everyone gets some of the cake and coffee...

:rotl:

Im sorry, I just can not believe someone actually filed this kind of lawsuit...
in some rural areas, and small towns, city hall is not convienent , and the nearest school building is about 2 miles.... so for some, that would mean going out of your District to vote...

I think the reason polling stations are set up in churches is because it is the only suitable building in that particular district..

[Nox_Mortus]

I think this is sort of silly, every time I've voted it's been in a church and I've never had a problem, in a lot of districts there aren't any civic buildings and churches are the only places willing to grant that kind of public access.

[Nocturna]

I really dont care, I live in virginia and the place I went to in the 04 election was a church. Nobody there tried to preach, nobody even brought up religion. So I really dont see why its a big deal, its just a church and I dont think it has much of an impact on voting

It never bothered me either. I've been to polls held in both church basements and public schools, and I never noticed a difference in the procedure or been preached at or otherwise harrassed in the churches.

Now I've never thought of the issue Shanti mentioned, but I would agree that that's a good reason to stop using churches.

I'm curious as to what the AHA found. Is "poll preaching" a big problem in some places?

[Fairy_Princess]

It's always been public schools where I live. The kids just get a day off.

[SSanf]

I would resent the heck out of having to go to a church to vote. I would be quite offended.

[Trithemius]

This lawsuit sounds pretty stupid. My current polling place is a church. It's no big deal. The only people there are the voting officials and volunteers. There's no religious involvement at all.

Where's the link to the article? I'm also curious as to what the AHA found that was so shocking.

[Shanti]

~puts on protective armor~
This is why I think we have so much mixing of church and state. To many people think its no big deal that god is on our money and in our pledge and some of us have to go to a house of god to cast our vote for public office.
And no one cares if Father Joe rides a caddy and his church is tax exempt!

I dont think there will never be a complete separation of church and state in this country.

[Trithemius]

Would you be just as offended if you went to a mosque or synagogue to vote?

[SSanf]

Would you be just as offended if you went to a mosque or synagogue to vote?
Absolutely.

[Fairy_Princess]

What if it was a Unitarian church, OTO Hall or Sacred Grove?

[Trithemius]

Absolutely.

Fair enough.

Before our voting districts were redrawn and the polling places changed, I voted at the county courthouse. Between the courthouse and the church, I prefer the church - the local media doesn't hang around waiting to ambush unsuspecting voters nearly as much as they did at the courthouse.

[Shanti]

Would you be just as offended if you went to a mosque or synagogue to vote?
I dont know if your speaking to me or Ssanf as I never said I was offended.

But I wouldn't like voting in any religious based establishment.

Every town has at least a town hall that could be used. Along with a lot of other options. There really is no reason to have the vote held in any religious building.

[Fairy_Princess]

What's wrong with just calling a school holiday and using the local school as a polling place? There is hardly a parish or county in the United states that doesn't have enough of those buildings to pull it off...

[firefairy86]

I go to a church to vote and I still don't think it's a big deal. Nobody mentions anything religious whatsoever so it doesn't really affect voting. The room that the polls are held in looks like a side room, I don't really have to walk through the church. No religous pictures on the walls or anything that looks religious. Personally, I'd rather vote there than wait in line for a long time because there's less voting places. I think that as long as their religion out of it, theres nothing wrong with voting in a church. And for the fundies, couldn't they just bend the rules for one day and call it a voting area instead of a church, since that would be the function for the day.

[Trithemius]

I dont know if your speaking to me or Ssanf as I never said I was offended.

But I wouldn't like voting in any religious based establishment.

Every town has at least a town hall that could be used. Along with a lot of other options. There really is no reason to have the vote held in any religious building.

It was Ssanf who specifically said she'd be offended, but I appreciate your response as well.

As far as the type of building used to vote, smaller towns might have an easier time finding a non-religious building to utilize. I live in a city of around 70,000 people. They try not to use the schools because here, school isn't cancelled for voting. To have thousands of people wandering in and out of the schools all day long is incredibly disruptive and the parking situation is a nightmare. On top of that, there are obvious security concerns we have to deal with nowadays. These are some of the primary reasons we have for using other places, and the churches are found pretty much all over the city, they have enough room to accomodate the voters, and there isn't any disruption aside from extra traffic in each area.

[Nocturna]

And for the fundies, couldn't they just bend the rules for one day and call it a voting area instead of a church, since that would be the function for the day.

That's the problem (well, one of the many problems) with being a fundie. You can never bend the rules. Violating a religious prohibition to go to the polls would be no different from violating it for any other reason. What they (or anyone else who was uncomfortable voting in a church) *could* do is cast an absentee vote, but I would still consider that discrimination based on religion. Legally speaking, well, that's what the outcome of the lawsuit might determine.

[Trithemius]

Umm, I just noticed that this article is dated December 7, 2006. Is there anything more recent pertaining to this lawsuit, or is it dead as a doornail?

[Shanti]

It was Ssanf who specifically said she'd be offended, but I appreciate your response as well.

As far as the type of building used to vote, smaller towns might have an easier time finding a non-religious building to utilize. I live in a city of around 70,000 people. They try not to use the schools because here, school isn't cancelled for voting. To have thousands of people wandering in and out of the schools all day long is incredibly disruptive and the parking situation is a nightmare. On top of that, there are obvious security concerns we have to deal with nowadays. These are some of the primary reasons we have for using other places, and the churches are found pretty much all over the city, they have enough room to accomodate the voters, and there isn't any disruption aside from extra traffic in each area.
But on the flip side, I used to live in Milwaukee city!! Not a small metro.
I lived in different areas through those years and one they used a local kids club building. Another used a elderly homes extra hall. Another used the library.
The neighborhoods I lived in had many churches but yet found non- religious based buildings. :)
My neighborhoods were also very multi cultural. :) Maybe that played a roll, I don't know since I have no comparison.