Messianic building won’t serve as polling place

A polling place at a messianic Christian center in New York was changed after Orthodox Jewish voters protested. Jewish voters complained to the city\'s Board of Elections after the Life in Messiah evangelical group\'s building was announced as a polling place for four election districts from Midwood in Brooklyn, according to the New York Daily News. The voters said their strict adherence to Jewish law would not allow them to enter the building.

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Jeffrey Hensiek

October 26, 2010

A polling place at a messianic Christian center in New York was changed after Orthodox Jewish voters protested.

Jewish voters complained to the city’s Board of Elections after the Life in Messiah evangelical group’s building was announced as a polling place for four election districts from Midwood in Brooklyn, according to the New York Daily News. The voters said their strict adherence to Jewish law would not allow them to enter the building.

Life in Messiah requested after the outcry that its building not be used.

“We have a deep love and respect for our Jewish neighbors,” said its development officer, Marilyn Miller. “We understand that coming into a messianic center might be uncomfortable for some. … The right to vote is a valued freedom, one we do not wish to hinder in any way.”

The polling place was switched to a nearby public school, which is not handicapped accessible, according to the newspaper.

A religious facility may serve as a polling place.