close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • View the map of states that have banned campaign clothing
    news

    View the map of states that have banned campaign clothing

    Vaseline Posted on

    play

    Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, and as you head to the polls, there are some things you should remember.

    Voting is exciting, and people may want to show their support for the candidate they support by wearing a button with their name or even a t-shirt or hat while voting. But according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL, they may be asked to change clothes or remove their hats or buttons before entering the polling place.

    This can affect anyone, depending on where they live.

    Why can’t I wear a political shirt to the polls?

    Wearing campaign gear to vote may seem as innocent as a Swifty wearing a shirt with the pop star’s face on it or a button with the lyrics to “Cruel Summer” printed on it, but it’s not that simple.

    Wearing campaign items is considered electioneering activity, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, where people try to convince others to vote for a specific party or issue.

    According to the NCSL, wearing campaign clothing is banned in 21 states.

    What is campaign clothing?

    Campaign clothing can include:

    • Clothing- Such as shirts, pants, dresses or other clothing items
    • Hats
    • Buttons
    • Stickers
    • Placards

    What happens if you accidentally wear a candidate’s merchandise to the polls?

    It depends. Louisiana, which is not on the NCSL list of states that ban clothing, is still asking people not to wear campaign items.

    There, voters are not allowed to wear campaign clothing within 600 feet of the polls, Joel Watson, Lousianna’s deputy secretary of state for communications, told USA TODAY.

    Anyone who comes to a polling place in Louisiana wearing a button, hat, shirt or other campaign clothing “would be asked to turn the shirt inside out, remove the button (and) put it back in the car.” The same goes for the hat,” said Watson. “If they refused, they would be asked to leave.”

    But asking people to leave is a worst-case scenario.

    “We want to give people the opportunity to vote,” he said. “So we just asked them to remove those specific items before they come back to the polling place.”

    What can you wear?

    Watson advises people not to wear anything with the following:

    • Name of the candidate
    • The candidate’s slogan – such as former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” or Vice President Harris’ “If we fight, we win.”
    • Clothing that expresses support or opposition to an amendment on the ballot. For example, a button that says ‘Vote yes on 4’

    “If it’s not election activity, then it’s allowed,” Watson said.

    Which states do not allow this?

    This data comes from the National Conference of State Legislatures. The states in yellow and marked ‘yes’ are states where it is outright banned. The states in blue and marked “no” are states where it is not banned, although the rules can still vary, such as in Louisiana, so double check before voting.

    Violence over election clothing

    The ban on election merchandise is not new. Yet a voter in Texas attacked a 69-year-old elections secretary who told him he couldn’t wear a red “Make America Great Again” hat at the polls because it was against the law, according to USA TODAY’s previous reporting.

    Jesse Lutzenberger, 63, was arrested Oct. 24 after “throwing several punches directly into the victim’s face,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference the day after the incident.

    The clerk worked at a polling place in Bexar County, Texas, which includes San Antonio.

    In Texas, wearing a hat, such as a MAGA or “Harris Walz” baseball cap, is considered electioneering, which is not allowed within 100 feet of the polling place entrance, according to NCSL.

    Lutzenberger was charged with injury to an elderly person and faces a third-degree felony charge.

    Contributors: Thao Nguyen; USA TODAY

    Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. You can contact her at LinkedInfollow her further X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram And TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like