Many Polling Places Are In Houses of Worship

Yesterday's Houston Chronicle explores the widespread practice of using churches and other houses of worship as polling places. Reporting on one Texas county, the paper says:

As Harris County voters Tuesday help select a new governor and other key officials in an unusually contentious mid-term election, many will cast their ballots at places of worship. Almost one-fifth of the county's 1,069 precincts vote in churches. And while election officials say they endeavor to ensure that such venues are neutral, recent studies suggest that even when overt political messages are absent, religious spaces can subtly affect voter choices.