Letter sent to all housing authority officials after Bristol Redevelopment and Housing Authority blocks door-to-door campaigning. Civil liberties group is prepared to represent canvassers or tenants whose First Amendment rights are violated.
Richmond, VA – The ACLU of Virginia today faxed letters to housing authority administrators throughout the state, telling them not to prevent political campaigners from going door to door in public housing projects to distribute literature, talk with residents, or to register individuals to vote.
In the letter -- which was sent to the heads of the 28 housing authorities in Virginia that manage public housing units -- ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis says the First Amendment protects both the right of campaigners to go door to door in public housing projects and the right of public housing tenants to receive information about registering to vote and political campaigns.
“Just because people live in public housing does not mean they can be cut off from political debate,” said Willis. “Public housing tenants have exactly the same rights as everyone else to be involved in our democracy, and housing authority officials violate the First Amendment when they block political campaigning and registration efforts at their doorsteps.
“Moreover political campaigners also have a First Amendment right to go door to door to disseminate their views in public housing developments, just as they would in any other place,” added Willis.
The ACLU’s letter was triggered by ongoing efforts by the Bristol Redevelopment and Housing Authority to block political campaigners from going door to door at its housing projects. According to news reports, the BRHA’s executive director first said that federal rules prevented campaigning on public housing property, but later said that BRHA prohibits all soliciting, including political campaign solicitation. Neither appears to be true.
The ACLU’s letter -- which cites Martin v. City of Struther, a U. S. Supreme Court case affirming the First Amendment right to canvass -- asks housing officials to make sure that their policies allow for political advocacy, and that all agency employees are aware that canvassers and tenants have the right to engage in political advocacy.
The letter also says the civil liberties group will consider legal action on the part of canvassers or tenants, should that become necessary.
A copy of the ACLU’s letter is available here:
CONTACT: Kent Willis, (804) 644-8022
