When RVA Indivisible planned nonpartisan “Party at the Polls” events outside six polling locations across three localities, including Henrico County and Richmond, it didn’t expect Chesterfield County to turn it away.

So, with melted ice cream and furrowed brows, Lauren Natale and fellow RVA Indivisible members asked: Is this constitutional?

Turns out, it probably is. Here’s why.

The rundown

Party at the Polls’ goal was simple: encourage people to vote, regardless of party affiliation. RVA Indivisible partnered with RVA Ice-Scream, Weekly Action RVA, Richmond Peace Education Center, the Henrico NAACP, Richmond First Unitarian Universalist, New Virginia Majority, Planned Parenthood and Moral Monday — all left-leaning organizations that describe themselves as pro-democracy.

“Our event was designed as a get-out-the-vote effort,” Natale said. “Really, it was just a way of saying to any voters who might have been procrastinating getting their vote in, ‘Come on this particular day. We’ll have snacks, games, giveaways to make it extra fun.’”

RVA Indivisible, an offshoot of the No Kings movement, planned to set up outside Chesterfield’s North Courthouse and Central libraries. The county’s Department of General Services then emailed Natale to say the events couldn’t go forward.

“The [parties] that happened in Richmond and Henrico all went off wonderfully and exactly as planned,” Natale said. “And we went through the process to approve all of those with those counties.”

The difference was Chesterfield’s policy. In June, the county revised its policies and procedures for election and campaign signs outside polling locations. The rules limit signs to those promoting candidates or referendums and cap the number of tents at three — one for each Democratic, Republican and independent candidate.

“They disallowed us from being there because their policy does not allow for poll greeting tents for nonpartisan groups,” Natale said.

Natale offered alternatives, including replacing the tents with tables. The county stood by its decision.

That left Natale with another question: Does the county’s policy violate the First Amendment?

So, does it?

According to one free speech expert, Chesterfield is likely within its authority to restrict which groups can set up at polling locations.

“I think the local government is probably within its authority to do that type of thing,” said Brennan VanderVeen — program counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech advocacy organization also known as FIRE.

Rules governing polling locations vary by state. Virginia requires local governments to ensure candidates have an opportunity to be heard outside polling places. The law also establishes a 40-foot prohibited area around polling place entrances. Beyond those requirements, localities have some control over how they manage their property.

Polling locations are considered limited public forums — government properties opened to the public for specific purposes. They’re subject to different rules than traditional public forums, which include parks and sidewalks.

“The government is not required to open up its property to let people put up signs, generally speaking. So that’s the baseline here,” VanderVeen said.

Governments can also limit access to a public forum to certain groups or types of speech, provided the restrictions comply with applicable constitutional rules.

“That’s a very narrow group, but it’s allowed to open it up to just a narrow group. And so this nonpartisan group sounds like it just doesn’t fit into that,” VanderVeen said.

Chesterfield says its policy intends to efficiently use limited space at polling locations while ensuring candidates have an opportunity to reach voters. The county also maintains maps of each polling place that designate where tents and signs may be placed.

“The county’s long-standing practice of providing a designated public forum at the county complex to partisan political groups is not new and guides the review of requests received,” a county spokesperson wrote to The Richmonder.

There could be complications, VanderVeen said, if the policy is applied to third-party candidates who don’t fit neatly into the county's categories — such as Green Party or Libertarian candidates.

For RVA Indivisible, the county’s decision meant finding another way to support get-out-the-vote efforts. The group redirected its unused funds to the Chesterfield NAACP, which is planning its own events. Since they’ll feature DJs and speeches, the NAACP plans to set up about 300 feet from polling locations.

Contact Eleanor Shaw at eshaw@richmonder.org. She is a Report for America corps member.