Federal court tosses Pa. paper’s poll-access lawsuit
PITTSBURGH — A federal judge has dismissed a western Pennsylvania newspaper’s lawsuit seeking access to Allegheny County polling places for reporters, photographers and video camera operators to monitor the sign-in process.
U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer agreed with state officials that the rules on access to polling places did not infringe on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s right to gather news.
She said in a 58-page opinion that no “federal court oversight” of how election officials are discharging their duties was required.
The newspaper said a state law keeping anyone other than voters and election officials 10 feet from polling places prevented it from monitoring the sign-in process.
But the judge said the law “‘does not target or single out’ newspaper reporters for disfavored treatment” and therefore doesn’t infringe on First Amendment rights.
Also see: Right-to-know coalition opposes Pa. poll-access limits
Tags: election, election coverage, media access, newsgathering, Pennsylvania
One Response to “Federal court tosses Pa. paper’s poll-access lawsuit”
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I have not read the opinion or about the case beyond from here but the idea that denying news-gathering potential from ALL parties does not single out the press as being infringed” is a pretty tough sell to me.
Even if not directly targeted at the press the policy certainly has a disparate impact on the press function by crippling a core aspect of press operations.
The jurisdictional or government interests justifying the 10 foot zone must have been great imho for this decision impeding news-gathering to fly.