***disclaimer: sorry bout the \'/\' and \'\\\', stupid proxy @ work BS. anyways,
In this mornings Vallejo paper
County mulls state policy on political garb at polls
Officials may more strictly enforce electioneering law
By TONY BURCHYNS/Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched: 09/25/2008 06:48:14 AM PDT
County election officials may consider buying smocks to provide to voters who show up at polls on Election Day wearing political garb, an official said Wednesday.
The idea will be discussed as part of an effort to rethink - and possibly more strictly enforce - the state\'s law prohibiting \"electioneering\" at polling places, said Lindsey McWilliams, Solano County assistant registrar of voters.
\"In the past, this hasn\'t been a problem for us,\" McWilliams said, adding that local voters have not been asked to remove campaign buttons before voting. \"But in an election like this, we are expecting more voters to turn out with a higher emotional temperament than we typically see.\"
While state law bans circulating petitions and other forms of overt campaigning within 100 feet of polling places, it doesn\'t answer whether wearing a McCain button or Obama T-shirt constitutes electioneering.
However, the California Secretary of State\'s Office, and most California counties, interpret the provision as applying to campaign buttons, hats and shirts.
\"Most counties have always interpreted the wearing of buttons, T-shirts and hats in the polling place as electioneering and have trained their poll workers to handle those situations,\" said Rebecca Martinez, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials and clerk recorder and registrar in Madera County.
\"This is a high-profile election ... different than most,\" Martinez said. \"They may be right about the increased propensity to wear hats, pins and buttons.\"
State officials have not advised counties on how to interpret the law, though Martinez said she\'s asked for guidance in the past.
A spokeswoman for the Secretary of State\'s Office said the question has typically been left up to counties, though the agency believes wearing campaign clothes to polling places violates the law.
Technically, violators could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Eva Coley, a Vallejo resident who\'s been active in voter-registration drives since the Carter administration, said she\'d never heard of Solano County precincts asking voters to remove campaign buttons. Coley, acting chair of the African-American Alliance in Vallejo, added that doing so could be perceived as an effort to discourage enthusiastic Barack Obama supporters.
\"It would make people angry,\" said Coley, \"I don\'t think there are too many people in the African-American community who know about this rule.\"
Vallejo resident Latara Harris agreed. A sudden change in how rules are interpreted would catch voters off guard, she said.
\"This is such an important election, and many of Obama\'s supporters are so enthusiastic about the importance and potential impact of this election that many of us show our support by wearing T-shirts and buttons,\" said Harris, a research manager in the health-care industry.
McWilliams said poll workers in other counties usually invite people who wear political buttons or shirts to remove them. Depending on the polling place, people may be asked to step into a bathroom and turn their shirt inside out.
In an infamous Butte County incident, a woman voted in her bra after she was asked to remove a campaign T-shirt, McWilliams said.
That\'s one reason why county officials are considering acquiring smocks, McWilliams said. San Diego County is also pursuing the tactic to avoid having to turn enthusiastic voters away - or create more scenes of shirtless voters.
For now, though, Coley said she plans to advise newly registered voters to err on the side of caution as far as wearing campaign garb to the polls:
\"Just be safe, and don\'t do it.\"
