Is this legal?

[Toni]

It is not a house of worship for a non-christian... it's just a house... a sillyt house with big empty rooms.

I am not a christian but a church or a temple or a synagogue represents a house of religious worship to me.

Voting in churches and in schools came about because churches and/or schools were often the center of a community, a gathering place that was always multifunctional.

Today in some places a church might serve as a polling place for very practical reasons already mentioned: empty parking lots mid week. Precinct voting places are intentionally chosen to be convenient for large numbers of people living in particular neighborhoods or precincts to make voting more accessible to the citizenry.

I have worked on Election Day at a polling place in a fairly conservative church building. Unless you find the exercise of voting rights to be a religious experience, there was nothing remotely religious going on.

Today and traditionally churches have provided space for worship, for education, for daycare, for meetings of various no religious groups , to distribute food and clothing and even meals to those in need, to serve as a site for community health care when needed, especially in times of disaster. Churches often have large basements making them useful as tornado or severe weather shelters. Churches often open their doors to other faiths in need of space. I spent a couple of nights sleeping on the pews of a church when I was temporarily without a home as did others. I am still grateful although its been decades since I needed a safe place for a night. Churches also provide a place and an entity to serve as political sanctuary.

Now many of those functions also happen in other types of settings but so what? If people are moved to provide service and solace to those in need, who cares if their hearts feel god is calling them to do so?

 

[whichphilosophy]

I am not a christian but a church or a temple or a synagogue represents a house of religious worship to me.

Voting in churches and in schools came about because churches and/or schools were often the center of a community, a gathering place that was always multifunctional.

Today in some places a church might serve as a polling place for very practical reasons already mentioned: empty parking lots mid week. Precinct voting places are intentionally chosen to be convenient for large numbers of people living in particular neighborhoods or precincts to make voting more accessible to the citizenry.

I have worked on Election Day at a polling place in a fairly conservative church building. Unless you find the exercise of voting rights to be a religious experience, there was nothing remotely religious going on.

Today and traditionally churches have provided space for worship, for education, for daycare, for meetings of various no religious groups , to distribute food and clothing and even meals to those in need, to serve as a site for community health care when needed, especially in times of disaster. Churches often have large basements making them useful as tornado or severe weather shelters. Churches often open their doors to other faiths in need of space. I spent a couple of nights sleeping on the pews of a church when I was temporarily without a home as did others. I am still grateful although its been decades since I needed a safe place for a night. Churches also provide a place and an entity to serve as political sanctuary.

Now many of those functions also happen in other types of settings but so what? If people are moved to provide service and solace to those in need, who cares if their hearts feel god is calling them to do so?

The reason churches schools and recreation halls are used for voting is because they are spacious enough to set up the polling booths. Realistically would be too expensive to build polling booths that are only used once every 4 years. Virtually no one gives a rat's butt where they go to exercise their voting rights in an uninterrupted way.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The reason churches schools and recreation halls are used for voting is because they are spacious enough to set up the polling booths. Realistically would be too expensive to build polling booths that are only used once every 4 years. Virtually no one gives a rat's butt where they go to exercise their voting rights in an uninterrupted way.

Exactly. I have no problem with polling places in churches. They're convenient buildings that will be otherwise unused that day.

 

[ImGod]

They also have free wine and bread. You may have to rummage around a little behind the alter, but it's there.

 

[KeepTalking]

They also have free wine and bread. You may have to rummage around a little behind the alter, but it's there.

Not the Baptist ones, they use grape juice and the smallest, most tasteless crackers you could imagine.

 

[ksen]

Not the Baptist ones, they use grape juice and the smallest, most tasteless crackers you could imagine.

Which they then break into literal crumbs before passing around. So you get a crumb of Jesus.

 

[HaRaAYaH]

It's got nothing to do with church and state.

How exactly not? It is a state vote inside a church?

If the voting both was in the sanctuary, you have a point. If not, it's not like you are going to get cooties from stepping inside of a church. I thought this was a place of rational people....

 

[Malintent]

How exactly not? It is a state vote inside a church?

If the voting both was in the sanctuary, you have a point. If not, it's not like you are going to get cooties from stepping inside of a church. I thought this was a place of rational people....

Why would that even matter (sancutary versus church)? I ask because I honestly have no idea what the "parts of a church" are. Why is one building different than the other, with respect to using it as a voting location?

 

[Sabine Grant]

If the voting both was in the sanctuary, you have a point. If not, it's not like you are going to get cooties from stepping inside of a church. I thought this was a place of rational people....

Why would that even matter (sancutary versus church)? I ask because I honestly have no idea what the "parts of a church" are. Why is one building different than the other, with respect to using it as a voting location?

There is no difference. I guess some folks are uncomfortable with the notion of exercising their right to vote in a building which otherwise serves as a place of religious worship. Despite of the reality that no religious activity, no worship, no led praying, no Bible classes, no proselytizing no preaching etc...are held in the said building at the time they exercise their right to vote.