KY Electioneering Ban Struck Down

Still more news from the courts.  Kentucky’s ban on electioneering was struck down today.  The ban extended 300 feet from the entrance to any building used for voting, and plaintiff John Russell originally brought suit to ensure that he could post campaign signs (from the opinion, it looks like standard-issue yard signs) on his auto body business’s property, which was within 300 feet of a polling place (incidentally, a church).

Some of the defendants settled, promising not to enforce the ban on private property within that 300-foot radius.  But others did not, and the court struck the statutory provision on its face.

From the structure of the statute (117.235(3) was the provision enjoined), I think this means that the only zone currently free from electioneering in Kentucky is the actual room where voting is conducted.  That is, electioneering is now permitted within 300 feet of the building, within 100 feet of the building, at the door of the building, and even inside the building, as long as it’s not in the room itself, and not disrupting “law and order at the polls.”  I’d welcome correction (Josh?) if there are other supplemental statutes that fill in the blanks here.

Here’s a preview from before the case was decided today – and more in the aftermath.

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