Pennsylvania: Port Authority refuses to run ads informing ex-felons of voting rights
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: If the Port Authority will post ads promoting the Women's Law Project, opposing housing discrimination, honoring Rosa Parks and touting a church's Christmas concert, then why won't it approve one on voting rights?
The American Civil Liberties Union posed that question in a federal lawsuit filed yesterday in conjunction with the Pittsburgh League of Young Voters.
The two groups want to run an advertising campaign to inform ex-criminal offenders in Pennsylvania that they have the right to vote as soon as they leave prison -- even if they remain on probation or parole.
Port Authority refused to use the ads, saying it doesn't display noncommercial advertisements.
The plaintiffs claim that Port Authority doesn't follow its own policies and has practiced content-based discrimination against them, violating both the First and 14th Amendments. -- ACLU sues Port Authority over advertising restrictions