Appeals Court Rules in KY Electioneering Ban

A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that will allow Kentucky to enforce its buffer zone prohibiting campaign activity on public property near polling places but not on private property.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday on a ruling by U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman, who said the state law violates First Amendment speech rights. He issued a permanent injunction Tuesday blocking the law's enforcement.

But a three-judge appeals panel lifted the part of the injunction that applies to public property or polling locations, allowing the state to enforce the electioneering ban on such property within 300 feet of the polls.

The case was brought in June by John Russell, a Campbell County businessman who had campaign signs pulled from the yard of his business.