Federal judge sides with news media in dispute over poll access

Exit polling can be conducted within 100 feet of a polling place on Election Day, a federal judge ruled last night. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson's ruling last night overturned an October directive by Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell to prohibit exit polling within 100 feet of precincts. Five television networks -- ABC, CNN, CBS, Fox News and NBC -- and the Associated Press had filed a lawsuit yesterday in U.S. District Court seeking a temporary order to block Blackwell's directive that limited the exit-poll surveys, even though there had been no prior problems. "Polling activities such as these have been conducted in this manner for over two decades," Watson said in his nine-page ruling. "There is no evidence before the court that these activities have ever impinged on a citizen's right to vote." Secretary of state's spokeswoman Betty Hull said today that Blackwell would abide by the ruling. The news organizations have formed a consortium to collect exit-polling data in Ohio and other states. The organizations said Blackwell's prohibition would have hindered their ability to gather information about the political process and would violate constitutional guarantees of free speech. [more]

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