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Judge rules Kansas polling site buffer zone constitutional

Polling locations open to Kansas City, Missouri, voters.
Posted at 11:43 AM, Oct 08, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-08 12:43:22-04

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled a Kansas law that prohibits electioneering within a 250-foot buffer zone of a polling location is constitutional and does not infringe on the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Holly Teeter dismissed on Wednesday the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas against Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and the Johnson County election commissioner.

In her ruling, Teeter cited a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Burson v. Freemen, that rejected a challenge to a similar Tennessee statute.

Teeter noted the Kansas electioneering has also stood unchallenged for nearly 60 years, and that all 50 states have similar laws.