Cornerstone Church is under scrutiny because of its decision to hold satellite-based polling during Sunday worship services this weekend.

Early voting for the Nov. 2 general election will be held via satellite polling stations in eight locations in Ames, including five churches.

Although churches are frequently locations for voting, this year’s election is creating controversy because two of the polling stations will be open during the regular church service.

Polls will be open at Cornerstone Church this Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., while there will concurrently be worship services at 9 and 11 a.m.

This location is one of five churches selected by Story County Auditor Mary Mosiman, after a petition requesting satellite polling stations was submitted to the Story County Auditor’s office.

The five petitions submitted representing the Republican Party were for the churches. Each of the petitions for the churches was able to obtain the 110 signatures needed to acquire a polling station, but all of the petitions were almost identical and each contained almost all of the exact same signatures, line by line.

However, the petitions are legitimate because the code does not state that individuals cannot sign multiple petitions for satellite polling.

“I don’t like the petition process, period. I don’t like that there are no restrictions … I think that’s careless,” Mosiman said. “I would like to see them changed.”

Tim Lubinus, Global and Regional Ministries director at Cornerstone, said the church itself did not submit the petition to hold the polls, but rather it was submitted anonymously on their behalf.

Another aspect of the location under debate is the fact that the church sermon could influence those attending the polls on that Sunday. Although the voting and the church service will be held concurrently, the polls will be taken elsewhere in the facilities, Mosiman said.

“I want to assure people that satellite voting will be conducted with access to all residents of Story County … If there is electioneering going on in the churches, they should not be doing anything that can affect the ballot,” Mosiman said.

Electioneering is a form of campaigning that is defined as “to take part actively and energetically in the activities of an election campaign and is considered illegal for a nonprofit organization like a church that claims tax-exempt,” according to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

This potential influence presents a problem when observing the polling laws section 21.300(8) line C which states: “No signs supporting or opposing any candidate or question on the ballot shall be posted within 300 feet of the satellite absentee voting station. No electioneering shall be allowed within the sight or hearing of voters while they are at the satellite absentee voting station.”

Despite the possibility of electioneering, Mosiman approved the sites because they did not fail to meet any of the requirements to hold the stations.

All eight petitions were approved by the auditor’s office, and the specific times of the polls were decided by the locations. The auditor’s office had to comply with the decision on the poll times because they had no legitimate, logistic or otherwise, reasons to deny them the polls, Mosiman said.

“If I deny them the right to hold it, then I have to answer to the petitioners. If I say that I can do it but I choose not to, that’s disenfranchising voters,” Mosiman said.

The sermon scheduled for this Sunday’s worship will be based on 1 John 2:28-3:10, which discusses the second coming of Jesus Christ, the messiah of the Christian faith and the sin of lawlessness.