No ‘Obama,’ ‘Palin’ T-shirts or buttons allowed at the polls

I’d heard it said that in Michigan that you can’t approach a polling place if you’re wearing any kind of recognizable campaign paraphernalia. It had the ring of urban myth, but it is not one. The law was challenged in federal court on grounds of free speech, but upheld by a federal judge this week.

Here’s an excerpt about the law from a very hard-to-find page on the Michigan Secretary of State’s Web site:

… Election workers have the right to ask voters entering the polls to remove campaign buttons or to cover up clothing bearing a campaign slogan or a candidate’s name. In addition, voters may be told to conceal campaign literature or other campaign materials brought into the polls. While there is nothing to prohibit a voter from referring to campaign literature or “slate cards” when voting, such materials may not be left behind in the voting station. Precinct inspectors should periodically check each voting station for campaign literature left by voters and discard any that is found…

I guess the fear behind the rule is that you could walk into a polling place with such an incredibly persuasive T-shirt or hypnotic lapel pin that you could sway people to change their votes and thereby change the results of the election, and the whole course of human history.

The failed suit by the union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) this week did not take issue with the current state law that says campaign signs and the distribution of campaign literature inside 100 feet of a polling place is illegal, but argued that wearing campaign T-shirts and buttons is protected “symbolic speech” and not “solicitation,” the way signs and literature are.

Apparently it’s not just true in Michigan either. There are a number of states where voters are not allowed to wear campaign gear into the polling place.

In Michigan, the law is 100 feet. You’re allowed to wear sweatshirts emblazoned with “Palin,” but only if you’re at least 100 feet from the entrance to your polling place. According to the Michigan ACLU, if you stand closer than 100 feet, there’s a distinct possibility that you will be charged with a misdemeanor. Here’s what the ACLU says:

… You cannot lose your right to vote if you wear a t-shirt, hat, button or other garb endorsing a candidate or an issue into the polling place. You will, however, be asked to remove these items by a poll worker or risk misdemeanor charges. Any and all campaign materials, including apparel, must be a minimum of 100 ft. outside of the polling place at all times…

Whether by design or by chance, the result could be hundreds, if not thousands of unwitting, enthusiastic Obama and McCain supporters being turned away from the polls on Tuesday.

A certain percentage would, of course, go home and change, returning later to vote, but some percentage would not. And, in a an election such as this one, where every vote is going to count, supporters of democracy should start discussing alternatives.

Pro-America sorts should be planning to keep boxes of extra-large generic sweaters and T-shirts at the 100-foot mark, just in case voters arrive wearing campaign gear that can’t be easily removed. Not sure, after all, what the law says about voting topless.

As yet, I don’t believe there’s been a coordinated campaign to enact this plan throughout states where such laws exist, but it wouldn’t surprise me if clothing drives for just such a purpose started up over this weekend.