I stopped by the library today, and I just know this is why a woman was standing on the sidewalk, crying. I realize she may not have known about promoting candidates within a certain distance of a polling place, but the rules are the rules.
One of my Facebook/IRL friends, who works at a high school, suggested that she turn it inside out, but chances are, it was still readable that way.
That rule varies by location, BTW. In my county*, voters can wear whatever they want in the polling place.
*Where I’m about to work my 7th election as an election officer.
Rules, damn rules. Trump supporters don’t stand a chance in a real, actual world.
Yeah, according to this, most states allow wearing candidate shirts/swag to voting (21 do not):
I think I’ve heard there are laws here (northeastern corner of Maryland) preventing people wearing political advertisements to vote, but they are in fact permitted to do so.
Some of them cry. Others start throwing punches.
And one lady removed the offending shirt.
That’s the law here in Minnesota, too. But it’s been interpreted to apply to any clothing supporting a candidate or campaign that is on the current ballot. (So excludes clothing the memorializes or deceased Senator Paul Wellstone. Or Abraham Lincoln, etc.) If we see that, we tell them to remove it, turn it inside out, cover it, or to do curbside voting from their own car.
But in our training as Election Judges, we are told for our own clothing to avoid anything that is political at all.
Lately some are even suggesting that we avoid either blue or red clothing!
Same here; we’re even told that we shouldn’t discuss politics with each other within the polling place. That’s totally fine with me. Electioneering isn’t the same as voting, and I’m glad that my county appreciates the difference.
The phrasing in the thread title made me think that there were some polling places that required you to demonstrate loyalty to MAGA in order to be allowed to vote. I’m glad this wasn’t the case, but it would not have surprised me if it had been. Would not have surprised me one bit.
Some people are wearing lotus earrings, or painting their fingernails blue, in support of the Democratic ticket. I haven’t heard of any blowback from that.
Yet.
For what it’s worth, this article is dated 2020.
When I was in elementary school back in the early '90s, our school’s auditorium was a polling place every election day, and the first thing you’d see that would tell you something was out of the ordinary was the big yellow “NO ELECTIONEERING WITHIN 50 FEET OF THIS SIGN” signs all around that side of the school.
It boggles the mind that you could live in a state with those kind of rules and not be aware of it, but then again I’ve lost track of the times a customer at work has complained about a policy by saying “WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT! THERE HAS TO BE A SIGN!” (side note: no there doesn’t) and I can respond simply by pointing at the sign two feet away from them.
PMURT?
So I’d be fine in my “Don’t blame me, I voted for Bill and Opus” shirt?
Election official here.
In WI, it’s not allowed, but our city clerk advised us to consider each situation. In some cases, it might not be worth drawing attention to the voter, as long as they quietly do their business and then leave, and the worn advertising is relatively discreet.
Sure, wear that shirt; you’re off the hook. “Bill and Opus” won’t make pollsters look. But don’t be shocked if some folks claim that not choosing sides earns you the blame.
You are what you vote, so I have zero pity on her. Besides, this is early voting, she can come back again and vote.
I had one of those, back in the day!
It honestly didn’t occur to me that clothing of a political bent might be a problem for an average citizen going to the polls. If I wore my MAGA 2024 “Take Back America” shirt and was turned away when made aware of the rules I’d be a little miffed, but I’d just go change and come back. No reason to throw a tantrum and verbally/physically abuse poll workers. It’s not worth going to jail over.
Clearly you don’t think like one of the more extreme MAGAts.
I think it’s a decent bet that a lot of trumpies show up wearing what they think of as “patriotic” dear leader-merch. And when asked to change, do so with just a little overt grumbling. Which doesn’t make the news. It’s the handful of entitled asshats across the entire country who get violent and hence newsworthy. But it’s still just a handful.