‘Vote Yes’ signs at church polling sites are legal — but some are taking issue with them

As thousands of Wichita-area voters show up to polls on Aug. 2, they could encounter political signs on polling-place property instructing them to “Vote Yes” on the Value Them Both amendment.

But they likely won’t see any “Vote No” signs at their polling places, The Eagle has found.

It’s a unique advantage for supporters of Value Them Both, a proposed amendment that would remove the right to an abortion from the Kansas Constitution.

And it’s totally legal.

That’s because most Sedgwick County polling places are on private church property and, therefore, out of the county’s control. The signs are allowed to be as close as 250 feet — shorter than a football field — from a polling place’s designated doorway, allowing many churches to post signs along streets and church driveways.

Any advocacy signs closer than that will be removed by supervising judges. (At polling places on public property, political signs are not allowed on Election Day. Signs advocating for a specific candidate are not allowed at churches.)

Out of 82 polling locations in Sedgwick County, 54 — roughly two-thirds — are Christian churches. At least eight of those churches have posted “Vote Yes” signs, a visual inspection of those properties in June and July by The Eagle staff found. None had “Vote No” signs.

Supporters of the amendment say the signs are protected by the First Amendment. Opponents see the signs as an attempt by amendment supporters to influence the outcome of the election.

Sedgwick County election officials say there’s nothing they can do about it. Some church polling sites told The Eagle they have agreed to remove the signs voluntarily on Election Day, but they are under no obligation to do so.

Churches are not allowed to support specific candidates for office, but they are allowed to choose sides on issues-based campaigns such as Value Them Both, which has been heavily bankrolled by the Catholic Church.

The Value Them Both political action committee that is pushing to pass the amendment would not respond directly to questions and instead sent a written statement.

“Kansas has strong laws to protect the legitimacy of our elections as well as the First Amendment rights of individuals and faith communities,” wrote Mackenzie Haddix, deputy communications director of Value Them Both.

Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, the political action committee opposing the amendment, said the signs stand to give the Yes side an unfair advantage in what is projected to be a close race.

“It seems very problematic — and unfair — to have an overtly political message on the property of a polling location,” Ashley All, spokesperson for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, said in a statement. “This is one more example of supporters of the amendment — who want to eliminate the constitutional rights of women — trying to unfairly influence this important election.”

Sedgwick County Commission Chairman David Dennis, who has Vote Yes signs in his own yard, acknowledged that signs lining the driveway or the streets at polling locations are a cause for consternation for many voters. But he said he sees it as private property owners exercising their First Amendment rights.

“It is a concern,” Dennis said. “We’ve heard several people discuss it already, and so it’s important for people to get the correct information so they know when there’s something going on that they need to worry about or if it’s legal by the statutes and the regulations.

“I want to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to advertise for what they want to vote for, and I want them all to go to the polls,” he said. “That’s their constitutional right. That’s why I served 29 years in the Air Force, to give everybody the constitutional right to vote as they see fit.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national organization that advocates for a separation between church and state, has long opposed governments using churches as polling sites — whether they have signs advocating for what’s on the ballot or not — because it could compel a citizen to enter a house of worship they may disagree with to participate in a democracy.

People who don’t want to vote in churches now have more options than in the past, from mail-in ballots to early voting at alternative polling sites. But Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said the political advocacy signs are a step too far.

“These churches are part of the problem,” Gaylor said of the Wichita churches’ signs. “The only organized opposition to abortion rights is religious in nature and these churches are certainly part of the evidence proving that statement.”

Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Angela Caudillo said many of the churches used as polling sites have been vigilant not to violate the law in the past and she expects they will cooperate this year.

“There are some churches that we’ve used in the past that have a very long drive and technically, if the private property allowed it, there could be signs on that drive,” Caudillo said. “We have worked with polling places in the past to ask them is it possible to remove those things because we know it does upset voters, it upsets candidates and it’s concerning to people. But, ultimately, if it’s on private property and it doesn’t fall within that 250-foot radius, we have to rely on them to make that decision.”

Caudillo said concerned voters can call her office with questions about political sign placement on Election Day. The 250-foot radius rule also applies to adjacent private property owners.

“We do receive a lot of calls every Election Day asking that question — usually homeowners and people who have signs that are within the 250-feet radius are really good about it. They know if they forget to pull it, they know somebody’s going to come and pull it the morning of the election.”

Contributing: Eagle staff