Holy Name church ends polling place service amid complaints

• No other churches targeted for now
• Controversy began in 2008
• Supervisor of Elections says churches have been used for polling places since nation%27s early history

When Floridians cast ballots Tuesday, many will do so after stepping onto the grounds of houses of worship where ministers and members have voiced a stake in some of the more pressing issues of the day, from same-sex marriage to abortion.

But for one church – Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Indialantic – this primary election day will be the last time that its grounds will be used as a polling place after a vocal group of protesters accused the congregation of promoting its views on its marquee and with a memorial for the unborn leading up to several past elections.

The decision to shut down this polling site, which had been located in a non-consecrated section of the church for 45 years, was made by the church's leadership.

Now the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections is scrambling to search for new polling places to accommodate about 5,000 affected voters in November's general election.

"It was their decision…I would not have moved it. I rely on lots of organizations for polling places and churches are a big part of that. They are the only community centers in a lot of places," said Lori Scott, supervisor of elections.

When a house of worship is used as a voting site, the ballots aren't cast in the sanctuaries but in an adjoining social hall or dining room. There are 123 polling places in Brevard County, with 60 of those being churches. The courts have ruled that using such locations does not equal government endorsement of religion.

But the debate over using churches – or any worship center – as a polling place has taken on new life with the growing national divide over issues like abortion and homosexuality. Recently the question over whether churches should be used as polling places played out with letters to the editor published in FLORIDA TODAY.

"The parish said they had several concerns because of what they were reading in the newspaper. And a group of ladies came in to talk to me about the church and its use as a polling place," Scott said.

Protesters point out that problems with Holy Name began on election day in 2008 after several activists waving Obama signs were escorted away from the church's property. The group took photos it says shows Holy Name using its blue and white marquee along State Road A1A to vote 'Yes' on Amendment 1, the Marriage Protection ballot initiative during the same 2008 election. The Catholic church is strong advocates of traditional marriage as being between one man and one woman.

They also pointed out that a black granite memorial to the unborn sits a few feet away from the entrance of the polling place. The pro-life memorial reads, "All life is sacred...born and unborn...Respect Life." The proximity led to a series of complaints to the supervisor of elections office.

"I'm not against God or religion, I'm just for fairness and following the law," said Vicki Impoco, a longtime community activist who met with Scott about the issue with a handful of other people.

Neither Holy Name nor Orlando Diocese officials would comment about the decision or Impoco's complaints.

Scott said that the use of churches as polling places goes back to the nation's early history when the houses of worship were used along with schools, town halls and other buildings because of their status as community centers.

"It's not a violation of church and state. In Florida, 38 percent of the polling places are churches. As a supervisor I rely on those partnerships," Scott said.

"I just don't see it as a problem."

For now, Impoco said no other churches are being targeted, although she would prefer that non-religious facilities be used for election day. "What I would like to see is for election day to be classified as a holiday and for voting to take place in the schools so our children can learn about democracy. I don't necessarily have a problem with churches. My issue was with Holy Name," Impoco said.

Michael Williams, pastor of the non-denominational Harbor City Christian Church Hall in Melbourne, said he believes some of the issues involving complaints about using houses of worship are "blown out of proportion."

"I think it's used to support an agenda. Why not use churches? We use our fellowship hall. It's not like the voting is taking place in the sanctuary. Not only that, we don't promote anything on election day. There's no proselytizing. All we do is make the facility available to the public," Williams said.

Friday, elections officials were bringing in the election equipment for set up in the dining area of the 50-member church.

"The history of this country shows that there was a close connection between the government and the church. Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were pastors and ministers," Williams said.

Maria Mullen, a 74-year-old Holy Name member from Satellite Beach and pro-life advocate, said she saw nothing wrong with the tribute to the unborn and said she is disappointed that her church decided to no longer offer its facilities as a polling place.

"I feel sad about it. Our church is not a political place but that memorial may have been a grace for many of the (voters) who maybe hadn't thought about life before," she said.

Susan Martin, a Merritt Island artist and community activist, feels differently.

"There's always been a great separation between the church and state. I would prefer not to have any church used as a polling place. I believe it has an influence on voter responses," said Martin, who has lived in Brevard for 45 years.

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, Twitter.com/jdgallop or jdgallop@floridatoday.com