Why Wearing the Right Outfit or Accessories When Voting Matters

10.26.20
Why Wearing the Right Outfit or Accessories When Voting Matters (Photo: LPETTET/Getty Images)

Whether you’re wearing sneakers, jeans and a t-shirt, a suit or a dress, what you wear near or at the polling place carries significant weight when casting your ballot.

Don’t get turned away at the polls because you’ve worn support for your candidate, an act called electioneering. 

Electioneering is displaying or voicing any information for or against a political candidate, political party or item on the ballot. There are electioneering laws in each state so you can vote without further influence or persuasion.

This could be pamphlets or flyers about a candidate handed out within 100 feet of a voting location. It can be buttons on a shirt or jacket about a candidate, or a proposed amendment or proposition on the ballot.

When you’re walking up to the door to go inside and make your vote count, here’s an example of what you shouldn’t see on anyone within the designated range of a voting location, or inside the polling place:

Face mask, hats, t-shirts, jackets, buttons, flyers or scarves with:

“Vote Republican”
“Vote Democrat”
“Trump/Pence”
“Biden/Harris”

or any photos of the above.

Anyone violating electioneering laws in their area could face misdemeanor charges. Check your local laws before going to the polls.

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