First, My apologies if this is a duplicate topic. I search on the search enging for harassment polls, and harassment election.

Recently- I was able to participate in one of my first election. I went to the October poll, to limit down my choice of candidates for my November election. Ok SO, im walking to the polling location ready for my first vote. Almost immediatly while I'm walking to the location I get spammed by "Vote for Nelson" and "Vote for Campbell" and "Vote for Santiago". I was soo confused about what was going on around me. Evenutally i took them all and went into the building and voted for the guy I wished to be Mayor. There were 7 choices, unfortunatly my choice came in third.

November- Its me again walking to the polling location with my choice of Mayor and judges and councilman in hand. But once again, while i was walking to the building ( telling myself that i avoided the people who baragged me last time, by walking a different way into the building) i'm immediatly found with people saying "Hey come here take our literture". Evenutally I walked to the car in who's candidate I was voting for and they gave me literature and chips ( I said I was hungry and they gave me a bag ). Eventually I was able to get into the voting booth, and I voted for my Mayor, Judges, Councilman, and several issues (including no on issues 2,3,4,5 and not understanding several of them).

Questions to Debate

1. What should local government(s) do to stop this harassment by the "volunteers"

2. Should an admement be passed to bar these people from being so close to the poll locations?

Once again I apologize if this is a duplicate topic

As a little side note my councilman and the issues I voted for and against all passed :-)

I really haven't had a problem with volunteers at the polling places when I vote but I might if they were yelling at me to vote for _______. I think that by the time people arrive at the polling places most have already made up their mind one way or the other. If they haven't then yelling at them to vote their way would seem to be less than effective.

Maybe having a law/rule allowing them to be there but to restrict them to displaying literature/answering questions would help. Don't know what the "free speech" crowd would think of it though.

My problem comes not from polling places but phone calls. I only have a cell phone and I work the grave shift. To have people calling in the middle of the day to wake me up and waste my available minutes just so they can babble on about how I will be affected by referendum 1 is really annoying.

I know that they don't know my schedule so I don't really mind that, but how did they get my cell number???? They call me and cost me money and then want my support? I don't think so.

1.) I think that here in my town there are laws prohibiting soliciting, promotion or other forms of public outreach within 1,000 feet of a polling place. So, I think local governments just need to step up on their regulations and this so-called "harassment" will die down quite a bit.

2.) If there is not already one then yes. All Americans have the right to demonstrate, but it is the job of the local government to tell them where they can and cannot. If a candidate or their acolytes has not done enough in the allowed time to campaign to get their name and message out there and they are having to resort to last-minute running-around-like-chickens-with-their-heads-cut-off in order to get you to vote for them, they obviously are not worth voting for. It should be required that you must demonstrate, if you are so inclined, within a reasonable amount of distance from a polling place.

1. What should local government(s) do to stop this harassment by the "volunteers"

I know some states do have local laws that prohibit solicitors and volunteers to be at the polling sites. There are so many feet away that they have to be from the place. I would advise you to check your local laws and notify the polling place if they are too close.





2. Should an admement be passed to bar these people from being so close to the poll locations? See above.

I was one of those people, I was getting paid not volunteering (great & long story to tell but I have no time tell). It started pouring rain and the poll workers let us sit on the steps under the awning (even though we were not supposed to be that close). I think people should be decent in local elections as we are not in national elections. The other candidates people were there to and we talked in friendly way, that person had to leave later and put her flyers out in a visible place where they would not get wet. If you don't want the flyer, just say "no thankyou, I already know who I'm voting for" and don't take it. Often in local elections people don't know who they are voting for, especially in for races besides mayor, I had a lot of people ask me about my candidate and I even talked a few into voting for him because they didn't know anything about either candidate before they came that evening. It two days a year, taking or being offered flyers doesn't hurt you.