Web Exclusive: Apparel ban in place at Pennsylvania polls

‘ ‘ ‘ Many Pennsylvania voters will have to leave their campaign buttons, hats and T-shirts at… ‘ ‘ ‘ Many Pennsylvania voters will have to leave their campaign buttons, hats and T-shirts at home on Tuesday if they want to vote without being hassled by poll workers. ‘ ‘ ‘ The ban on candidate apparel in polling locations is part of a controversial Pennsylvania law that forbids voters from electioneering, which is soliciting votes for a candidate inside a polling location, said an employee from Allegheny County Division of Elections. ‘ ‘ ‘ Rather than instituting a statewide electioneering law, the State Elections Bureau Commissioner, Chet Harhut, wrote in a memo last month that all of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania have the right to create their own voting guidelines, said Molly O’Leary, Pennsylvania’s chief of the division of voter registration. ‘ ‘ ‘ Though Allegheny County allows voters to wear candidate apparel, some poll workers in May’s primary election asked potential voters to remove or cover up clothing items that support candidates, said O’Leary. ‘ ‘ ‘ Allegheny County elections manager Mark Wolosik said that although there are no regulations on what voters can wear, they cannot linger or speak to each other inside the polling location and must leave immediately after they vote. ‘ ‘ ‘ Wolosik also said that those who aren’t voting must remain at least 10 feet from the polling location at all times. ‘ ‘ ‘ Wolosik said he doubts there will be any instances of electioneering on Tuesday, especially because there have been very few episodes in the past. However, he declined to describe any of these instances. ‘ ‘ ‘ Although Allegheny County is one of the counties that allows voters to wear election apparel, two poll workers in the county believe that there should be a statewide law banning it and filed a lawsuit against last month’s memo. There has been no decision on the lawsuit yet, meaning nothing will change before Tuesday’s election, said O’Leary. ‘ ‘ ‘ The controversial law is not expected to keep anyone away from the polls, as Allegheny County Elections Divisions expects a 75 percent voter turnout on Tuesday. Of the 965,000 registered voters in Allegheny County, 105,000 of them range in age from 18 to 24, many of whom are students, according to spreadsheets on Pennsylvania Department of State’s Web site. The College Democrats and College Republicans seem to agree that voters should be able to wear clothing supporting candidates at polling places. ‘ ‘ ‘ President of Pitt College Democrats Lissa Geiger is well aware of the electioneering law in Pennsylvania and said, ‘Obviously freedom of speech is an issue, and voters shouldn’t be yelling or acting disruptively inside the polling locations, but they should be allowed to wear partisan apparel because it’s how voters can express themselves.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Zachary Bombatch, vice president of the College Republicans, agreed. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I believe voters should be allowed to wear whatever apparel they like. There are so many campaign yard signs, banners and stickers displayed near voting areas and throughout every county that people should be allowed to display their support for their candidate proudly; however, I don’t believe people should speak on behalf of their candidate or give ‘stump speeches’ at voting sites,’ said Bombatch.