Can't Protect Itself
American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, News Release
October 10, 2006
ACLU Asks Virginia Police Chiefs to Educate Personnel on the Rights of Political Canvassers
Incident in Warrenton, past experiences prompt pre-Election Day warnings
Richmond , VA – The ACLU of Virginia is sending letters today to every police chief in Virginia -- 185 in all -- asking each to immediately initiate programs to educate local law enforcement personnel on the rights of political canvassers. The ACLU’s letter also includes a warning that the ACLU is prepared to provide legal representation to canvassers whose free speech rights are violated.
The letters were prompted specifically by a recent incident in Warrenton in which a police officer stopped canvassers to inform them that they were violating the town’s anti-solicitation ordinance. The canvassers were walking door to door asking residents to vote against the state constitutional amendment banning legal recognition of gay marriages and of other relationships between unmarried persons.
The letters are also a result of the ACLU’s long experience with suppression of political expression in the weeks leading up to elections. In addition to assisting canvassers, the ACLU has acted to protect the right of homeowners to post campaign signs and of campaign workers to distribute political literature in public places.
“Door to door canvassing for political and religious purposes is carved so deeply into the American landscape that one hardly needs to invoke the Constitution to justify it,” said ACLU of Virginia executive director Kent Willis.
“Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the Supreme Court has struck down every local ordinance that attempts to interfere with this basic First Amendment right.”
“The ACLU acknowledges that canvassers do not have a right to enter property where signs indicate they are unwanted and that they must leave property at the behest of its owners,” added Willis. “But homeowners should not expect the police to remove canvassers from neighborhoods just because they find their presence irritating, or they don’t like the content of their message.”
The ACLU’s letter cites Watchtower Bible and Tract Society v. Village of Stratton, a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that political and religious canvassers could not be required to obtain a permit or even give notice before going door to door with their message.
A copy of the ACLU’s letter to Virginia’s police chiefs follows. A copy of the letter to Warrenton Police Chief Connie Novak regarding the incident there is available upon request.
Contact: Kent Willis, 804-644-8022
[Sample]
ACLU of Virginia 530 East Main Street, Suite 310 Richmond, Virginia 23219 (804) 644-8022
October 10, 2006
Dear [Police Chief]:
I am writing to ask you to take immediate steps to educate law enforcement personnel under your supervision on the rights of canvassers to go door to door to distribute political literature and express their views on matters that will appear on the ballot on November 7, 2006.
As you must know, the right of canvassers to enter onto private property to express their views is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. This right trumps any local anti-solicitation ordinance.
Our request is prompted not only by a recent incident in Warrenton in which a police officer told canvassers they were violating a local anti-solicitation ordinance, but also from numerous past incidents in other parts of the state. In our experience, police are most likely to inappropriately enforce anti-solicitation ordinances during the last few weeks leading up to an election, when canvassing is at its peak.
In Watchtower Bible and Tract Society v. Village of Stratton, the U.S. Supreme Court held that political and religious canvassers could not be required to obtain a permit or even give notice before going door to door. In that case the court wrote: “ It is offensive--not only to the values protected by the First Amendment, but to the very notion of a free society--that in the context of everyday public discourse a citizen must first inform the government of her desire to speak to her neighbors and then obtain a permit to do so.”
Not only does the right to canvass supersede any local anti-solicitation ordinance, but to our knowledge none of the anti-solicitation ordinances in Virginia actually prevent door-to-door canvassing. In all instances of which we are aware, anti-solicitation ordinances in Virginia apply solely to situations in which money is sought. Canvassing at this time of year rarely involves solicitations for contributions.
Your law enforcement personnel should be told that they are obligated to protect the rights of canvassers with the same vigor with which they protect the rights of property owners. Certainly canvassers may not enter onto property where signs indicate they are not permitted, and they must leave property promptly upon request of the owner. But the proper response of police officers to property owners who are merely irritated by the presence of canvassers in their neighborhood is to explain the rights of the canvassers, not to demand that the canvassers leave the neighborhood.
Although we hope it will not be necessary, the ACLU is prepared to provide legal representation to any canvasser whose First Amendment rights are denied by law enforcement officials.
I thank you for your attention. If you are interested in obtaining more information on the rights of canvassers, please feel free to contact me at 804/644-8022 or acluva@acluva.org.
Sincerely,
Kent Willis
Executive Director