A federal judge has refused to overturn an ordinance in Mt. Lebanon that requires anyone going door-to-door to register with authorities and carry a permit, including people working for get-out-the-vote campaigns.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued Mt. Lebanon and Monroeville four days before Election Day on behalf of the Service Employees International Union and two women who planned to canvass the suburbs as part of a get-out-the-vote campaign. The ACLU argued that the municipalities' ordinances were unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab ruled Thursday that canvassers hadn't been harmed by the ordinance and had no standing to challenge them.

The ACLU's Pittsburgh chapter said an appeal would be filed.

According to the suit, both Mt. Lebanon and Monroeville required anyone to get a permit from police before going door to door. They also required canvassers to pay a fee: $10 for a permit and $50 per week in Monroeville and $50 in Mt. Lebanon, according to the suit.

Monroeville was dropped from the suit after officials explained their canvassing ordinance applied only to peddlers and those soliciting for money.

Mt. Lebanon allowed the canvassers to go door-to-door after they agreed to fax their driver's license numbers to the borough to satisfy a requirement that canvassers present a valid photo identification card.