Why can't you wear your political gear to the polls?
(NEXSTAR) – An outfit may not be the first thing most people think of before heading to the polls, but a misstep while dressing could jeopardize one’s vote.
All states have some restrictions when it comes to voting in person, and most states have rules about actively campaigning within a certain distance of a polling place. Some states, however, have extended that rule to include a dress code.
One of those states is New Jersey, where a reported incident between an early voter and a poll worker received national attention after vice-presidential candidate JD Vance commented on a post.
A Reddit user posted a photo of a bra-clad woman purportedly voting shirtless after a poll worker told her the Trump shirt she was wearing violated electioneering prohibitions. According to the person who posted the image, the woman fired multiple expletives at the worker before taking off the shirt and saying "this is why she votes Trump."
"What a patriot" Vance wrote on X. The post he commented on has since been deleted, but as of Oct. 30 the original Reddit post was still live. According to New Jersey election law, campaign-related apparel and other accessories are not allowed within 100 ft. of the polling place.
Another voter in Texas made headlines in late October after allegedly punching a 69-year-old election worker who asked him to remove his pro-Trump hat at a polling place.
Electioneering rules are meant to keep people from feeling pressured or intimidated in any way while voting, said Quinn Yeargain, an associate professor of law at Michigan State University.
"This is not something that functions in any way to chill anybody's free speech," Yeargain said. "This is to keep polling places neutral locations."
Conflict over electioneering statues isn't new, and in one notable instance voters successfully challenged state law. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of Minnesota Tea Party supporters who argued that the state's ill-defined ban on apparel with "political" messages was too broad.
"How much states can necessarily do is something we might see some Supreme Court cases on in the future," Shawn Donahue, a political science professor at the University at Buffalo, told Nexstar. "But I think that maybe the Minnesota law was being interpreted in that state potentially a lot more broadly than in some other places."
Current Minnesota law bans "campaign T-shirts, buttons or literature which relate to specific candidates, official political parties or b allot questions on the ballot that day."
There are 21 states that have statutes banning electioneering apparel at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures:
- Arkansas
- California
- Delaware
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
Banned apparel items vary depending on the state, but include buttons, hats, shirts, stickers and other articles of clothing.
“…a person may not wear a badge, insignia, emblem, or other similar communicative device relating to a candidate, measure, or political party appearing on the ballot, or to the conduct of the election, in the polling place,” Texas law states.
That’s right, in nearly half of U.S. states, those T-shirts emblazoned with candidates’ faces or campaign slogans could be considered electioneering, or an attempt to influence someone’s vote. State laws vary when it comes to how far someone needs to be from a polling place while electioneering – in Alabama it’s 30 feet from the door, while in Iowa it’s 300 feet – and also what apparel might cross the line.
In California, for instance, a shirt bearing a "candidate's name, likeness or logo" is prohibited, but campaign slogans such as Make America Great Again are not.
Violating the rules may result in more than a wasted trip to the polls, depending on what state you live in.
In Kansas, for instance, prohibited electioneering is a class C misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail or up to a $500 fine.
It’s always a good idea to check your local voting guidelines before heading to the polls. Some states like Maine, where campaign apparel isn’t allowed, have exceptions – buttons that “do not exceed 3 inches and are worn by people at the polling place solely for the purpose of voting” are allowed.
"My general advice is don't go to the polling place with campaign apparel, be respectful of the location and the process," Yeargain said. "You know, it's not difficult to just wear a different shirt and take your picture with your 'I Voted' sticker outside the polling place with whatever shirt you want."
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