DO NOT WEAR ANY OBAMA PARAPHENALIA TO THE POLLS? Is there any truth to this?

I just saw this bulletin on my myspace page. This is the person who re-posted the bulletin:
http://www.myspace.com/various602

I have tried to include a link to the bulletin itself too:
http://bulletins.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulletin.read&authorID=85225724&messageID=6121812592&MyToken=51178399-1dad-4c3b-8fe3-17d854db856b

Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

Here is the body of the bulletin:

"I'm just spreading the word along, this is a repost from MC Lyte's blog. Please repost to spread the word to make others aware.





DO NOT wear any OBAMA Paraphernalia........


Hey my People,

Don't know how true this is but please consider....

DO NOT wear any Obama Paraphernalia to the VOTING POLLS!!!

The text below is very important information that we all need to share.



PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, advise everyone you know that they absolutely can not go to the polls wearing any Obama shirts, pins, or hats, it is against the law and will be grounds to have the polling officials to turn you away. That is considered campaigning and no one can campaign with in X amount of feet to the polls.

They are banking on us being excited and not being aware of this long standing law that you can bet will be enforced this year!!!!

They are banking that if are turned away you will not go home and change your clothes.. PLEASE just don't wear Obama gear of any sorts to the polls!! Please share this information, oh and for those of who were already aware this was not meant to insult your intelligence.



Just tryin to cover all grounds.



DO NOT wear any OBAMA Paraphernalia to the Voting Polls!!!"


So, is it true?

Electioneering is NOT ALLOWED within a set distance of a polling place in most states (usually 100 feet). Wearing campaign-logo emblazoned clothing may see you asked to leave. It's not smart. Don't do it.

leaflets within 50 feet of the polling place here in Chicago.

In 1976 a nice older lady at my polling place told me I had to put my Jimmy Carter button in my pocket until I left the premises. This is no biggie.

The Republicans are looking for any excuse to turn away Obama voters on election day. Best not to take any risks.

They will make you cover up or remove any campaign materials including Hats, T-shirts, buttons etc.

a political sign within 50 feet (or whatever) of a polling place.

eom

I dont imagine that its changed...that bahstuds...

campaigning in the poll site by many states and against the law. It has nothing to do with Obama, Democrats, Republicans, etc. Check the election laws in your state.

You cannot campaign near the polls. I have always assumed that this includes any
campaign t-shirts, hats, etc.

It's a good reminder. We don't want to give anyone an excuse to turn away an Obama voter.

I will be wearing my bumpersticker in the parking lot

Standing in line to vote in 04 a neighbor had on a bush t-shirt and he was asked to leave the voting site. He just went to his car and turned the shirt inside out. I had hoped he would just go home and not come back to vote.

It's a BIG no no to wear any form of campaign related gear at the polls.

I recommend everyone taking several plain t-shirts with them in case you come across a new voter that doesn't know the rules. If they get turned away, the odds of them changing their shirt and coming back is probably not that good.

Standing in line to vote in 04 a neighbor had on a bush t-shirt and he was asked to leave the voting site. He just went to his car and turned the shirt inside out. I had hoped he would just go home and not come back to vote.

Even though our laws only prohibit POLL WORKERS from wearing clothing with a political message,
during the 2004 election I was not permitted to vote until I removed my buttons and Kerry Edwards t-shirt.

It's called "electioneering" and is not allowed within a certain radius of the door. In Florida it's 100 feet so just leave your stuff in the car while you vote and put it back on when you are done and go stand 101 feet from the door!

(Not an attorney, just a campaign activist)

Doug D.
Orlando, FL

call your state or local election board, or preferably, local Dem or Obama campaign office. In PA, there was a recent ruling that you CANNOT be made to leave or remove your political stuff, as long as you are not ACTIVELY CAMPAIGNING within a certain distance of the voting machine.

THIS IS MORE DISINFORMATION SPREAD BY REPUKES. DO NOT BE TAKEN IN!!!!!!

This is not something republicans have come up with. It's ridiculous to imply it. You really think there's a huge danger of a lot of republicans voting for Obama because of a f...ing T-shirt??????

Insisting on wearing your campaign crap could do Obama much more damage than good. The process needs to move quickly and anything that slows it down will hurt Obama.

But, very good answer!

Nothing suggestive of a candidate or position endorsement within 100 feet of a polling station. Election workers will probably just ask you to remove the button or put a jacket over your t-shirt. Maybe DUers who are working the polls can carry an extra sweatshirt with them in case this comes up in YOUR town. Polling places are supposed to have workers representing both parties, so hopefully this policy will be applied even-handedly.

If you or your precinct members have questions, you should always call the Board of Elections to check. You should also report any harassment of voters or other unacceptable behavior to your BOE immediately--preferably while you're still at the scene of the offense. DUers, plug your local BOE number into your cell phones.

Interesting question: nobody's ever made a fuss about bumper stickers in the parking lot, to my knowledge. In theory, they shouldn't be allowed, but what's the solution? Anybody have any anecdotal reports about this? I think the policy is really in place to keep flagrant electioneering in check. Everyone's definition of flagrant may be different, of course, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone's been hassled about their bumper stickers at the polling station.

Edited to add another point.

At least not in Maryland. They make it a point to say it on the Maryland State Board of Elections. I know that in PA the GOP was trying to make a stink out of this but (as far as I know) even that is not illegal. They call it passive electioneering. But it's hogwash. At worst I've heard of some states asking people to turn their shirts inside out. But usually no one gives a damn.

I've gotten it twice in 24 hours.

I think the rules vary by state.

can't do it either.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/electioneering.asp

It sounds like it can vary by state and what might be on the ballot in some cases.

It's probably best to wear non-political clothing on election day. Better safe than sorry :)

The voter turnout for this election will be huge! It will be VERY IMPORTANT for things to run smoothly. Everytime an election worker has to tell someone to take off their hate, etc...THEY WILL BE SLOWING THINGS DOWN!

We have a very good chance at winning. WE DO NOT NEED THIS KIND OF EGO CRAP GETTING IN THE WAY.

If you want to be helpful, then sign up to work on the election or be a poll worker for Obama and you can stand outside and hand out information to voters.

It is true-you have to be a certain distance away from the polls with any campaign items.
It is important to get the word out-you can't take off a tee shirt to vote-buttons can be removed.

Please don't give them any help.

Wear your Obama stuff proudly on that day, but not within 100 feet of a polling station. Check your local regulations to make sure what your exact limitations are. Some restrictions may vary, but there ARE restrictions.

:evilgrin:

I just never wore anything related to the campaigns to the polling place. So, nothing ever happened to me, naturally, and wondered if this was true. I didn't want to repost it if it wasn't true.