Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall needs to do more to ensure that voters don't encounter emotionally charged displays at polling places that could influence their choices, the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said in a letter to the clerk Friday.
The letter was prompted by the decision of a Boulder County Catholic church to leave up an anti-abortion display on Election Day.
"The Church had the First Amendment right to maintain this provocative and, to some, intimidating anti-abortion display on their property," the letter said. "But the fundamental constitutional and statutory right to vote must prevail in this case on the property of a polling place selected by the County."
Judd Golden, chairman of the Boulder County chapter of the ACLU, said the display could fall under Colorado's laws against voter intimidation.
"It would be fair to conclude that putting this display there was intended to influence someone's vote," Golden said. "Abortion may not have been on the ballot, but there were candidates on the ballot who took very different positions on that issue."
Sacred Heart of Mary, 6739 South Boulder Road, signed a contract to serve as a polling place -- as it has in previous elections -- in April, and put up the display, which includes several thousand crosses representing aborted fetuses, in October.
Boulder County election officials said they were originally told it would be taken down before Election Day, Nov. 6, but church officials said they didn't promise that. They also said the display wasn't intended to influence voters, only to extend the church's pro-life ministry.
Molly Tayer, Boulder County's deputy clerk and election coordinator, said the display was outside the 100-foot limit inside which no electioneering is allowed and on the church's private property. It also did not reference any specific candidates on the ballot.
Tayer said before Election Day that the clerk would not use Sacred Heart of Mary as a polling place again, but it could neither force the church to take down the display nor move the polling place at the last minute.
In its letter, the ACLU said the clerk's office needs to do more to prevent voters from facing similar displays -- whether religious or not -- on the property of a polling place that carries the implicit approval of the government.
"This situation could have been avoided," the letter said. "The County had a contract with the church, and could have made sure this display was not present on polling place property on Election Day, or the polling place could have been moved."
Tayer said Friday that once the clerk's office is finished certifying the most recent election, it will look at what it can do to avoid similar situations in the future, including possibly adding new language to the contracts it makes with polling places.
Golden said the ACLU understands that the clerk's office was caught unprepared by the church display but steps should be taken to prevent similar incidents before the next election.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Erica Meltzer at 303-473-1355 or meltzere@dailycamera.com.
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