Update on Freedom to Wear Buttons and Shirts into Polling Place While Voting [View All]

[JPZenger]

The fight is not yet over whether a voter in PA is allowed to wear a campaign button or a shirt with their candidate's name on it while they vote.

Here is the letter from the PA. Department of State's Commissioner of Elections that went out to all counties in PA. telling them to not turn away voters for simply wearing a button or a shirt promoting their candidate. "Active" campaigning inside a polling place is still prohibited, but simply wearing a button is considered "passive."

http://www.aclupa.org/downloads/PassiveElectioneering.pdf

However, the PA. Republican Party is still fighting the issue in Commonwealth Court. Montgomery County (one of the most populated counties in PA) is saying they will turn away voters. The head of the Montgomery County GOP, Kern, wrote an editorial in the Phila. Inquirer Sunday saying that
voters should be turned away for wearing a button or a shirt. (FYI - Mr. Kern's predecessor in that role, Bob Asher, had spent time in prison for political corruption).

The ACLU and the PA. Democratic Party say it is an attempt to intimidate voters, especially younger first time voters. It could particularly be an issue in a polling place with long lines (which often happens near colleges), if a person has to leave to change their shirt just as they are ready to vote.

Here's excerpts from a recent news article on the issue:

http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/10/06/news/state/s_news178.txt

"Montgomery County, a highly competitive political battleground in suburban Philadelphia, is sticking with its policy banning voters from wearing political buttons or related attire into the polls.

Douglas Hill, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said he had no hard numbers but that he believes the 67 counties are now evenly split on the question. Prior to the issuance of the state's memo, he said, more counties banned the wearing of politically polarized clothing and buttons at polling places.

...state elections commissioner Chet Harhut ...stressed the importance of not depriving citizens of their right to vote and said local officials should allow voters to wear partisan attire "if such electioneering remains passive and the voter takes no additional action to attempt to influence other voters."

Several counties, such as York and Lehigh, said recently they will not kick out voters for wearing a political button or shirt.