Virginia has a law that makes it illegal for a voter at the polls “to exhibit any ballot, ticket, or other campaign material to any person or to solicit or in any manner attempt to influence any person in casting his vote.” In 2008, the Virginia State Board of Elections issued a regulation, interpreting this law to mean that voters may not wear anything that mentions a candidate who is on the ballot. On December 10, a lawsuit was filed in federal court that challenges the regulation. Borak v Rodrigues, U.S. District Court, eastern district, 3:08cv-809. Read the complaint here. The case was filed by the Virginia ACLU, the Thomas Jefferson Center, and the Rutherford Institute.
The plaintiffs were wearing buttons or stickers on their clothes. They say they weren’t trying to influence any other person’s vote.
The plaintiffs’ claim (not trying to influence) is simply not credible on it’s face. There are always rare exceptions, but why else do 90% of button/sticker wearers wear such items?
The only credible question to raise is whether or not such “electioneering” rises to a level that the state has a legitimate interest in banning it from polling places. That strikes me as a question worthy of debate.
How about a tee-shirt, button or sticker saying —
Vote for ABC or D-X-E.
Solve for X. ???
Were they trying to influence themselves by looking in a mirror ???
ONE more NUTCASE lawsuit to be thrown out of the courts.
Maybe they are just signifying, for reasons associated with their own sense of pride or identity, which candidate they support.
People wear team logos to football games, but I doubt they expect to actually change anybody’s mind about which team to support. (I know that’s not a perfect analogy, when looking at the big picture, since football games are not decided by a vote of the fans, but it is another example of people signifying their support without an intent of changing anyone’s mind.)
I’m certain that some Obama supporters wore (and still wear) Obama merchandise for reasons that are separate from a desire to change anyone’s vote.
RichM: It’s not much of a debate anywhere else. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe a majority of states now allow so-called “passive electioneering” at polling places, meaning the wearing of buttons, lapel stickers, and T-shirts. If you do not actively approach people to get them to vote one way or the other — if all you’re doing is wearing the item and not verbally or otherwise openly advocating a particular vote within the confines of the polling place — then that is permissible in most places (including here in Maryland, where I moved from Virginia last April, and I always found that rule highly annoying).
Richard Winger – what is the count re: states that permit passive electioneering and those that do not, and how is such a ban constitutional?
Doesn’t this violate Freedom of Speech?
Perhaps red and blue clothing should be banned from poling places since those colors have political gang significance.
I don’t know the answer to the question about how many states enforce clothing rules and how many don’t. There have been few lawsuits over this issue. There was one in Pennsylvania filed earlier this year, which is probably still pending.