Appeals Court rules GOTV & canvassers don't need a permit

[TayTay]

Court Tosses Canvasser Registration Ruling By MICHAEL COWDEN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Apr 29, 12:20 AM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060429/ap_on_el_st_lo/election_canvassing_lawsuit_1


PITTSBURGH - A federal appeals court Friday overturned a city ordinance requiring door-to-door canvassers — including people working for get-out-the-vote campaigns — to register with police and carry a permit.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, ruling in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union four days before the 2004 presidential election, said Mount Lebanon's ordinance violates constitutional guarantees of free speech.

The ACLU welcomed the ruling, which reversed a December 2004 decision by a federal judge in Pittsburgh.

"Requiring people to tell the police in advance that they want to discuss political and religious matters with their neighbors is offensive to the very essence of a democracy," said Witold Walczak, the Pennsylvania Legal Director of the ACLU.