Virginia voters must eschew clothing that features John McCain or Barack Obama when they head to the polls in November, a state agency ruled Tuesday.
The board of elections voted to ban clothing, hats, buttons or other wearable items that expressly promote the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.
Virginia, with most other states, prohibits electioneering within 40 feet of a polling place to prevent voters from being intimidated or unfairly influenced. But the American Civil Liberties Union argued that the new rule is a breach of the First Amendment right to free speech.
“A political button or sticker that is handed to a prospective voter at the polling place is campaign material, as it is intended to persuade the recipient to support the candidate displayed on the button,” ACLU Executive Director Kent Willis wrote to the board last week.
“But once it is applied to a voter’s clothing, it becomes a statement of the voter’s own personal choice,” he said. “At that point it is no longer campaign material and should be allowed in the polling place.”
The rule also could prove confusing or distracting for poll workers who must make snap judgments about what constitutes campaign clothing, Willis said.
“Must the apparel include a candidate’s name?” he said. “Then what about a shirt that says ‘Vote Republican’ or a shirt with the Democratic donkey symbol?”
The board said it had to weigh the right to free speech against the right to vote free of undue influence or intimidation. Maryland allows voters to wear campaign paraphernalia, while D.C. does not. A similar ban is under review in Pennsylvania courts, and at least four other states — Maine, Montana, Vermont and Kansas — prohibit wearing campaign buttons and stickers inside polling places.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
