PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The three major networks, CNN, Fox News and The
Associated Press filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal judge to strike down a
South Dakota law that prevents exit polling within 100 feet of a voting place.
The law violates the First Amendment because it restricts the news
organizations' speech and commentary about the political process and limits
their opportunities to gather information about that process, according to the
lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Sioux Falls, asks that the case be
handled quickly because South Dakota's primary election is June 3, just three
weeks away. It seeks a preliminary ruling before the primary to prevent South
Dakota officials from barring exit polling within 100 feet of polling places.
The lawsuit was filed by ABC, CBS, NBC, Cable News Network, Fox News Network
and the AP.
Poll representatives working for the news organizations have conducted exit
polling within 100 feet of South Dakota voting locations in past elections,
according to the lawsuit.
However, South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson told polling
representatives in an April 2 e-mail that exit polling would only be allowed
within the bounds of the state law that bars exit polling within 100 feet of a
polling place, the lawsuit said. Nelson warned in the e-mail that a violation of
the law "will be dealt with by all legal means including prosecution."
The accuracy and reliability will be harmed because exit pollers may not be
able to question some voters, the lawsuit asserts. Some voters may get into cars
and leave before exit pollers can ask if they want to fill out questionnaires,
hurting the accuracy of the polls, it says.
Nelson said Monday he had not had time to study the lawsuit in detail. But
he said the purpose of the exit-polling law is to maintain the integrity of the
polling place. "We certainly feel that's an important principle to uphold."
He said exit polling has not been a problem in past elections because the
law has always required it to be done outside the 100-foot area around a polling
place.
"So when it's done outside of that 100-foot area, it doesn't interfere with
people's coming into the polling place or coming out of the polling place or
subject the voters to the questions of exit pollers when they may be in the
process of voting," Nelson said.
Exit polls provide information valuable to news organizations and scholars
because they help analyze voting patterns according to gender, age, income,
race, religion and other categories, according to the lawsuit. The information
helps explain how and why people voted for or against particular candidates.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|