Election Coverage

Prepare Now to Avoid Election Day Problems

Kathleen Kirby, RTNDA Counsel

As you plan to cover Election Day at polling places throughout your community, familiarize yourself with state law regulating media access to the polls and formulate a plan of action should officials attempt to unlawfully restrict the activities of your reporters and producers.

Polling place access is a matter of state law. Before Election Day, you should consult the web site of your Secretary of State’s office, and brief your staff on any relevant law; in fact you should provide reporters covering the polls with copies of any state advisories and/or media-friendly statutes or opinions. Make sure your reporters and producers carry credentials. In some jurisdictions, you may be required to notify your local board of election if you will have on-site coverage at polling places. In other circumstances, it might be beneficial to negotiate with state or local officials prior to Election Day about ground rules for access.

Some state statutes prohibit many forms of activity—including reporting or exit polling—in a specified zone around polling locations. For instance, North Carolina prohibits exit polling within a 50-foot buffer zone, while Illinois has a 100-foot prohibition.

That said, there have been several successful challenges to such statutes. In 2006, a U.S. District Court in Florida struck down a state law restricting media exit polls within 100 feet of polling places. Just this month, a federal district court in Minnesota held that a nearly identical state restriction on exit polling was unconstitutional. In 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that journalists should have reasonable access to any polling place for the purpose of newsgathering and reporting, so long as they do not interfere with poll workers and voters as voters exercise their right to vote.

Thus, there is legal precedent in some jurisdictions and a strong argument to be made in others that electronic journalists should be permitted to gather information at polling places, as long as reporters gather the information in a manner that does not obstruct the voting process. These decisions have clearly distinguished exit polling from solicitation or campaigning near polling places (so-called “electioneering”). The potential for voter intimidation or fraud resulting from electioneering serves as the basis for most state statutes prohibiting access to or creating buffer zones around polling places, as lawmakers seek to preserve the integrity of the voting process.

Even if your state law permits access to polling places, there still may exist specific guidelines for you to follow. For example:

• Reporters in some states, such as Oklahoma and New Jersey, may need to give the applicable county’s Board of Election notice of any exit polling to be conducted.
• In some states, journalists covering polls must carry credentials. In certain states, you must obtain specific credentials from the board of elections.
• Some states impose certain common-sense restrictions on exit polling, such as voluntariness, anonymity of surveys, and conducting the surveys after voters have voted and left the booth.

Every state prohibits interfering or obstructing voters and the voting process. Even in states that grant the media liberal access in or around polling locations, exit polls must be conducted so as not to harass or intimidate voters or obstruct voting itself. Reporters may need to maintain a reasonable and unobtrusive distance from entrances and exits to polling places.

If you need help on Election Day, your state broadcast association or local attorney can provide assistance specific to your state. For general questions, contact RTNDA at 202-467-5205 or email president@rtnda.org.