Fresno church that displayed Black Lives Matter banners to become polling place again
A northeast Fresno church that prominently displayed Black Lives Matter banners on church property will serve as a voter-polling place once again.
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California settled a lawsuit with Fresno County on Tuesday that allows the Unitarian Universalist Church to be used as a voter ballot drop-box location for at least four years, including two presidential elections and the primaries in between.
In addition, the congregation will be allowed to continue to display its signs “affirming the worth and dignity of Black Lives during the elections,” the ACLU wrote.
The Unitarian Universalist Church had been removed as a polling place in November 2018 after County Clerk/Registrar of Voters Brandi Orth received complaints from voters about Black Lives Matter banners on the property.
“The settlement affirms our commitment to participating in the democratic process while continuing to display our Black Lives Matter banners and we will continue to do so to highlight the racial injustice against Black people,” said the church’s minister, Rev. Tim Kutzmark. “We’re thrilled that the church will be able to serve voters again, now as a ballot drop box location.”
A lawsuit was filed in June 2019, arguing that Orth violated the church’s right to free speech when she ordered the polling place moved. The county elections chief ad stated the Black Lives Matter banners prevented the church from being a “safe and neutral” voting place for the November 2018 elections.
“It’s ironic that county officials took away the church’s polling place because they said it made some voters uncomfortable,” said Christina Fletes-Romo, a voting rights attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California
“Yet now, a year later, community activists have emblazoned Black Lives Matter on a street in front of Fresno City Hall, encouraged by city officials.”
Added Steve Hankins, who was a co-counsel in the lawsuit: “This settlement is a victory for Fresno County voters. In a time when vote-by-mail is more crucial than ever due to COVID, this additional ballot drop-box will ensure that voters don’t have to choose between their health and their right to vote.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 7:09 PM.