A group of ballot-initiative advocates announced Wednesday that they are filing suit against the U.S. Postal Service for its policy of barring petition-circulating at post offices.
The plaintiffs cited the policy's impact on free speech and the democratic process, contending that it "severely limits the ability of citizens around the country to place issues before their fellow voters," according to a statement.
The Initiative & Referendum Institute, a nonpartisan group that serves as a clearinghouse for ballot-access issues, was joined at the announcement by Art Spitzer of the American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area; Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States; Paul Jacob of U.S. Term Limits; and attorney John Ferguson of Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman.
The plaintiffs are actually filing three actions almost simultaneously: a lawsuit, a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order. The preliminary injunction is expected to be considered by a judge within a week to 10 days, while a temporary restraining order is typically heard almost immediately, said M. Dane Waters of the Initiative & Referendum Institute. The lawsuit itself will play out over several months or more, he said.
The plaintiffs say the ban is most problematic in rural areas, where few public spaces exist to collect signatures, and where the rights of signature-gathering on private property--such as retail stores--are being similarly squeezed.
Waters said the injunction and the restraining order are necessary because the deadlines for qualifying ballot initiatives in many states are fast approaching.
While a suit has been under consideration for at least nine months, "we spent six months trying to negotiate a settlement with the Postal Service," Waters said in an interview. "We tried to avoid litigation at all costs."
The Postal Service has long barred private charitable solicitations and electoral campaigning on its premises. But a Postal Service policy put into effect June 25, 1998, prohibits "soliciting of signatures on petitions, polls or surveys on postal property except as otherwise authorized."
Contacted Wednesday, the Postal Service declined to comment. When asked about the policy last year, a Postal Service spokesman told GovExec.com that such policies "have been reviewed by the courts and upheld. The changes were made after a careful review of court decisions, which found that the rules do not infringe upon anyone's First Amendment rights."
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