Judge blocks law banning campaigning near polls

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge has struck down a Kentucky law that prohibits campaign activities within 300 feet of polling places.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman on Tuesday comes three weeks before voters go to the polls. The races include the hard-fought Senate campaign between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Bertelsman ruled in a lawsuit brought by a northern Kentucky man who in 2012 allowed campaign signs to be placed at his auto body business. The signs were removed by sheriff’s deputies because they were within 300 feet of a polling place at a church. The man responded by suing the state.

The judge ruled that the state law violates the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. He issued a permanent injunction blocking the law’s enforcement.

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