West Palm Beach. FL – A federal judge has ruled that polling sites located within houses of worship do not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.
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Delray Beach, Fla., resident Jerry Rabinowitz sued Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson. He is a nonobservant Jew whose voting precinct is in a Catholic church. He claimed that casting a ballot amid crucifixes and other religious features amounted to a breach of church-state separation.
Rabinowitz argued that elections officials refused to remove or cover religious materials at Emmanuel Catholic Church when he voted there in November.
"The use of this church as the polling place in this case, with all of its outward and obvious manifestations of a particular religion, has the primary effect of advancing a particular religion over other religious and nonreligious positions," the suit claimed.
But the U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks ruled that the location of the polling place does not endorse a specific religion.
Churches are often used as polling places throughout the country, largely because they are designed to hold large numbers of people, have adequate parking places and are normally accessible to elderly and handicapped persons, according to court documents. [ketv]
Let’s put all of the Lomdus away. None of it is the issue. Anon. 5:07 had it right. I agree with his assertions 100%. Except that my Father did not fight & lose the argument Three Times.
It would seem that having a benefit (having your voice heard through voting) is prohibited with avoidah zora or even abizrayhu d’avoidah zora.
Statistically speaking I would think that a district that has a church would also have a public school because children are statiscally more common than catholics. It’s nice of the church to offer their services (no pun intended [Ok, pun intended] but if it interferes with voting it should be changed. For example. If the local polling place happens to be in a KKK Meeting hall, could a black man say he feels uncomfortable voting in such a place? I would think so. The comparison is really germaine if you consider the history of the Catholic church.
My father has fought and lost several times the use of churches as polling places. The bottom line is that the US gov’t does not see a problem with using churches as public places because this is a Christian country and we are a barely tolerated minority here.
Each time we have fought this (3 in all) we were told to use absentee ballots. And it IS a violation of our religion according to our Posek to even step foot on Church grounds for any reason.
America is a Christian country and Jews are second class citizens here. Yes, we do have it good here, maybe better than anywhere we have lived before, but we are and remain second class citizens in a Christian country.
And what about the absentee ballot? No requirement that he enter the polling place, just vote via paper.
Not sufficient.
If the major impetus for voting is so that people see Jews participating so that our causes will be recognized by politions, absentee doesn’t help.
Where is the Agudah on this?
If a place of voting is offensive, anyone can protest to his local election board to change it. Further, voting is not permitted to be held in sanctuaries, but rather social halls or even just entryways.
And yes, in our local area (not Monsey like the person above, a NJ M.O. community), the local polling place is the large community synagogue’s lobby. MOST of the local voters ARE NOT Jewish, and do include hindu (india) and even muslims.
I would advise you to consult your rav whether walking into a church’s _lobby_ for voting purposes, where it’s clearly labeled as such and it’s voting day, is a problem.
Anon at 9:57- Unfortunately, what you think is a violation of seperation of church and state, is in fact not such a violation, as the Court ruled in the case. The issue of seperation of church and state is not based on the individual, only on the policy in place. Here, that policy is that voting booths in a church. But it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s a Jew and cannot enter a church.
This is Florida – Absentee vote!
I do agree with the premise that voting in a place like a Church may influence a voteres decision esp. in regards to certain policies. in addition to the fact that many people are offended by having to enter a Church not just us.
A Jew is not allowed to enter the Church where objects of Avoda Zara are displayed. I would think that this is a violation of separating church and state. Whether or not the Jew is religious, is irrelevent, He is right not to want to vote in a church.
I live in Monsey and our voting is in the Visnitz yeshiva- what happens if a goy says he wont walk into a yeshiva? (and yes, there are still goyim that live in Monsey)
Because his argument was not that he’s Jewish and can’t enter a Church. Rather, his argument was that the practice of conducting an election in a Church is a breach of Seperation of Church and State. Based on this argument, the Judge’s opinion is correct, in that it does not support any religion over another or for that matter, religion at all. It is simply used as a convenient place.
of course thats why i dont get how they can do this
the freedom of american is to respect everyone
why wont they respect this jewish guys that he cant enter a church??????
oh please that is the most pathetic ruling I’ve ever heard from a judge
everyone especially in America knows that Jews don’t go into a church and to make that you should have to go vote there is just ridiculous
this guy should appeal im sure he will win
he doesn’t want money all he wants is his right to be a Jew and vote at the same time
imagine what would be if they made the polling booths in a church here in ny!
isnt it asur to enter a church for any reason?