Pictures of candidates for elected offices casting their ballots on election day are almost as old as elections themselves.
But the state Election Code says no one but people officially connected to the balloting may be within 10 feet of a polling place.
And the 10-foot rule is being increasingly enforced on election day.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has sued in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh over the provision, hoping the law will be proven unconstitutional, settling the issue once and for all.
Newspapers and other media have been photographing voters as they sign in at polling places for a long time, unless voters object. It hasn't caused any problems of which we are aware.
And not only do our readers deserve to see the voting process in action, we suspect that they count on it. The 10-foot law only hinders the role of newspapers as neutral observers to witness the political process through to the end, as we have done since the start of our form of government.
And shouldn't voting be our most public of all activities, as Americans have long been proud of how our election process separates us from all other countries?
In the name of keeping the voting the process as public as possible, we should all hope the Post-Gazette is successful with its lawsuit.
