Churches as Polling Places: Can churches be used as polling places?
Under the Establishment Clause, government may not appear to promote particular religious beliefs or religion generally, nor may it take any action that makes religion relevant to a person’s standing in the political community. And under the Free Exercise Clause, the government may not require citizens to profess religious views or impose a substantial burden on sincere religious beliefs, unless doing so is the only means of advancing a compelling governmental interest. It may seem surprising, then, that governments at all levels regularly establish polling places in churches — meaning that would-be voters must enter a house of worship to cast their ballots. Two courts have considered whether this practice violates the First Amendment, and both have concluded that it does not. The first court found no Establishment Clause violation where secular venues comprised the vast majority of polling places, polls were typically set up in non-consecrated portions of houses of worship, and variou
