Allegheny County President Judge Joseph M. James upheld a legal challenge by the Post-Gazette against the county this morning, allowing photographers to shoot in the direction of a polling place from outside a 10-foot buffer zone.

Election workers in the past had prevented PG photographers from taking photos from outside a polling place toward an open door or window, for example.

Judge James signed a court order stating that county employees cannot interfere with photographers outside polling places as long as they are "located in areas accessible to the public or into which they have otherwise been lawfully admitted." The ruling applies to any member of the public, not just the Post-Gazette.

The order includes language prohibiting photography inside the polling place or within 10 feet of the entrance.

The final sentence of the order -- stating that no photographic equipment is allowed inside the polling place -- was redacted a short time after this morning's hearing, after lawyers from both sides discussed it and proposed the change to Judge James. The parties agreed that it could be interpreted as a ban on cell phone cameras, which was not the intent of the order.