Let the shirts go this year

By The Daily Progress

Published: October 18, 2008

Simply wearing a message T-shirt or campaign button within a voting precinct’s hallowed boundary ought not be that big a deal.

But this might not be the best time to challenge that boundary.

The State Board of Elections just voted to ban clothing, hats, buttons or other items that advocate the election or defeat of a candidate or issue inside polling places. Electioneering within 40 feet of a voting place already is banned. The wearing of message clothing now essentially has been defined as electioneering.

The vote came in response to an American Civil Liberties Union request to loosen the restriction.

The Board of Elections says voters should be able to cast their ballots without harassment or undue influence. We agree.

But, truly, we’re a gullible and a thin-skinned people if we are unduly influenced or harassed just by seeing someone wearing a shirt or button with a political message.

We had always considered electioneering to be overt campaigning — handing out campaign material, engaging in debate, that sort of thing.

Passive expression of opinion ought not be that threatening.

Voters ought to be able to express themselves silently, though their choice of attire, on the way to the voting booth. Other voters ought to be able to see that silent expression of opinion with tolerance, without feeling pressured.

For pragmatic reasons, though, this is not the time to test that truth.

This year’s presidential election is close and hard-fought between the two major candidates, and passionate for their adherents. Election officials fear that even a passive expression of opinion might trigger tension or intimidation.

“I’ve seen people argue in lines when they don’t have campaign material on,” said board Chairwoman Jean Cunningham.

If anything were to go wrong this year, it could kill chances of getting the rule relaxed in future years.

The ACLU says the state should prove that there’s the high probability that the right to vote would be impaired, not just the possibility of tension or even disruption. But even the ACLU says it needs to research the issue more fully before deciding whether to launch a court challenge.

There’s a good argument for allowing people to simply wear their opinions into the voting booth. But it’s an argument that might best be left for a later day.