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That's the word from the Secretary of State's office, and those election folks are the ones who should know.
I got an e-mail on behalf of a candidate, someone who thought candidates were being unfairly (and illegally) denied access to homes in gated communities and could not doorbell. Her e-mail is below, but I deleted her name. She was well-meaning, but wrong.
Hi Joe,
Can you print some information for the public regarding the legal right of candidates to enter gated communities to campaign.
It would be useful to the great number of non-partisan candidates running this year.
I know there is precedent on this issue, but some people get very mean and threatening.
Thanks for your help.…and no, this is not for me, it’s for others less experienced and the people who live out in the south county in all these new gated places.
Thanks!
Here is the official word from state election folks:
Joe,
Gated communities are private property. We don't know of any basis on
which candidates can demand to enter private property, even for purposes of campaigning.There are some forms of private property that are required to open
themselves up to political campaigns. This comes up most frequently in
the context of signature gatherers who want to circulate petitions.We address this issue on our website at:
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/faq.aspxThe location in those cases is usually a commercial facility, such as a mall or farmers' market, that has intentionally opened itself up the public in a manner similar to a town square.
On the contrary, a residential gated community has not opened itself up the public. Rather, it has announced that this property is only open to residents and residents' guests. The streets in gated communities are usually not county roads, but are private roads.
Another similar scenario would be an apartment building that has locked entries. The apartment building is not open to the public but is restricted to residents and their guests.
We do not know of any caselaw that gives candidates the legal right to
enter restricted residential property in this manner.Thanks very much.
Katie Blinn
Assistant Director of Elections
Office of the Secretary of State
(360) 902-4168
kblinn@secstate.wa.gov
