by Jorge Gomez • 3 minutes
City officials in Rowlett, Texas don’t want Freedom Place Church to serve as an early voting location. What’s more, the city is trying to shut down the church. Last week, officials sent a letter threatening to revoke the church’s certificate of occupancy, claiming it had been “issued in error.” This would force the congregation to close its doors within 10 days.
For the second year in a row, Freedom Place Church was chosen by election officials to be Dallas County’s only early voting site in Rowlett. Election officials said the church meets all the legal requirements to be a voting location.
However, in an email to other city officials last September, Rowlett Mayor Robert Margolis said, “Rowlett City Council will not allow voting to occur in any church building. That’s not where voting belongs, and especially when the Pastor of this specific church has endorsed a candidate who will be on the ballot in November.”
Mayor Margolis’s hostility to Freedom Place resulted in Dallas County revoking an agreement for the church to serve as a voting site in 2023. Then this month, just days prior to the start of early voting, the city claims it discovered problems with the church’s certificate of occupancy, though the certificate was issued nearly a year ago. Withdrawing the certificate would force the church to shut down and prevent it from serving as an early voting site.
First Liberty sent a letter warning city officials against revoking Freedom Place Church’s certificate of occupancy. We explain that we’re ready to file a lawsuit against the city, as its actions to close the church’s doors and prevent it from serving as an early voting site violate the church’s civil rights and Texas law.
“The City of Rowlett and its mayor are engaged in illegal religious discrimination and election interference,” said First Liberty Executive General Counsel Hiram Sasser. “Freedom Place simply wants to serve its community just like thousands of other churches across America that serve as voting sites. For city officials to claim at the last minute that it is somehow improper for a church to serve as a voting location shows blatant religious hostility and flies in the face of American history and tradition. This kind of election interference cannot be tolerated.”
There are many misconceptions surrounding churches and elections. Opponents of religious freedom often manipulate information to make Americans believe that politics and the pulpit may never converge. But that’s simply not the case. The number of things churches can do during election season far outweigh the number of things they can’t do—both in quantity and importance.
It’s perfectly legal and common for churches to serve as voting locations. According to a 2022 report from Christianity Today, “church polling places are rarely controversial. Here, governments rely on churches to be safe, trusted civic spaces. And 12,875 houses of worship extend hospitality to their neighbors, opening their doors for elections.”
At that time, the news outlet estimated there were “more than 60,000 polling places in America, and roughly one out of every five is located in a church.”
“The City’s view that churches should never serve as voting sites is not only contrary to history and widespread practices across Dallas County and the United States,” First Liberty’s letter explains, “but also demonstrates an intent to discriminate based on religious status.”
From now until Election Day, First Liberty is educating people of faith and all Americans about the importance of their vote. Visit our Election Resource Center for more information, free downloads and resources, videos and helpful guidance.
Learn More:
First Liberty: Election 2024: Your Country. Your Faith. Your Vote.
First Liberty: What Pastors and Churches Can Legally Do During Election Season
First Liberty: Poll: Religious Voters Could Be Deciding Factor in 2024 Election
Related News:
Dallas Morning News: Rowlett church accuses city of ‘sabotage’ over voting feud, threatens lawsuit
WFAA / ABC 8: Rowlett’s only early voting location could be forced to close
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