Exit Poll Exclusion Zone for NJ Voting Stations

In New Jersey, the state Supreme Court has banned exit polls from being conducted within 100 feet of polling stations, and also kept in place a bar on the distribution of leaflets and other materials within the same area.

The court said that eliminating such activities would free voters to cast their ballots without obstruction.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey argued that it should be allowed to approach voters with a card that explains voting rights and provides a phone number to call if they experience problems with registration or voting.

It petitioned the Attorney General for permission to hand out the cards, but the request was declined on the basis that if ACLU workers were allowed within 100 feet of the polling booths, other groups would also have to be permitted. ACLU appealed, but the high court denied their request.

'The Legislature did not intend that, in the last 100 feet leading to the polling place, a voter would have to run, or walk, a gauntlet of hawkers, hustlers, and protesters, or even pollsters shooting questions and voting-rights advocates handing out cards,' Justice Barry Albin explained.

ACLU-NJ President Frank Corrado responded that the decision marks 'dark territory for free speech and voting rights in New Jersey'.