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Passive electioneering

Wearing campaign items or carrying signs

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In 2008, internet political organizers were cautioning voters not to wear campaign T-shirts at the polls.

At least seven states, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, and Kansas prohibit wearing campaign buttons, stickers and badges inside polling places. Efforts to enforce a similar ban are headed to court in Pennsylvania. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that the ban violates the First Amendment's right to free speech.

United States

New York

The State of New York has a rarely enforced law that prohibits wearing campaign buttons or T-shirt at a polling place. In the fall of 2008, New York State Board of Elections Spokesman Bob Brehm stated that voters at the polls who wear a campaign button or T-shirt will be asked to remove the item.

Virginia

The Virginia State Board of Elections voted on Tuesday October 14, 2008, to ban clothing and hats as well as buttons and other paraphernalia that directly advocate the election or defeat of a specific candidate or issue.

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