Calblog

This was a Join Arnold shirt, yes?

What the???

You're allowed to wear political shirts at polling places- this has been well litigated.

I'd get that man's name- you have a serious lawsuit on your hands.

I don't wish such things even on people as misguided as Arnold voters.

"Electioneering" isn't allowed within about 200 feet of the polling place. I forget the exact amount of feet, but it's set by law.

That means no campaign info, flyers, etc. Partisan t-shirts (from any political stripe) are definitely "electioneering" and thus not allowed inside the exclusion zone.

It sounds like the election guy was a jerk, but he was unquestionably within the law.

Good God.

I say that because wearing a t-shirt is not covered under Elections Code section 18370, as it is considered passive.

There was a big fight about something similar a while back that informs this.

Caselaw could have changed that, and the code might have been amended. I'd look into it though.

I'm with the Clam. Sue the bastard.

This kind of behavior at the polls is tantamount to intimidation.

Unacceptable.

I would have called the police. And I would have told everyone in the vicinity that you weren't being allowed to vote. I bet he would have caved.

TOTALLY agree with Smash & Clam: go back to the polling place - or send a friend - & get the man's name.

This is disgusting.

I would venture to say that if the T-shirts ARE considered electioneerying, that it would have been fulfillment of the law if she were to have been told to put the blanket around her (shirt on). Sounds to me like this move was made out of sheer perversion by a man who feels the need to exert his "superiority" over women.
And I'd have someone head back there in a pro-Buster/pro-Davis t-shirt to see if the guy pulls the same stuff. I'll bet he doesn't.

I'm in Sacramento, if someone wants to write up a complaint -- I'm tied up with other stuff -- I'll go serve the SOB.

Why didn't she just turn the shirt inside out?

Bob Morris is right. You can't wear a campaign tee-shirt inside to polling place. However your options should have been to wear a jacket or shirt to cover the tee-shirt or to turn the shirt inside-out and then vote.

By making you take the shirt off and giving you only that option the jerk should be in a world of trouble. His actions are totally unacceptable. Get his name and at least file a report with the local supervisor. Make sure that the jerk never works an election again.

I am sorry that you had to put up with that kind of behavior.

You idiots aren't seroius are you ?

NEVER put up with that type of crap. You should have refused to disrobe, and if Senor Jerko continued, tell him "So call a cop. It'll make nice documentation for the LAWSUIT, jerk."

NEVER put up with that type of crap. You should have refused to disrobe, and if Senor Jerko continued, tell him "So call a cop. It'll make nice documentation for the LAWSUIT, jerk."

I've worked at plenty of GOTV operations, and there's never been a settled answer to this question (unlike, say, asking for identification at the polling place, which is clearly not required).

We're always advised to take a jacket with in case this happens, but I've rarely been admonished for wearing a t-shirt or button (signs are a clear no-no). I'd be pleased if one of the people who are certain about this could post or link to the decision. It would make my life easier!

This story sounds dubious to me and I doubt we're getting the whole story here. You were in the wrong to wear a shirt endorsing a candidate to the polls and should have accepted that and either gone home to change, put something over the shirt or gone to your car and turned your shirt inside out. I take it the blanket was put on over the offending shirt, so why cry and whine? I wonder if it wasn't you who were harassing the man who was good enough to volunteer his time and was simply trying to enforce the rules.

Why not just turn the shirt inside out?

Look, I'm as sympathetic as the next guy as to what a jerk the guy was.....but you sort of created the situation yourself by wearing a shirt that is possibly illegal to enter a ballot zone.

Having worked as a poll worker, I can tell you that the people working each precinct are temporary workers hired for the election day and given a limited amount of training. Whether this one was correct in his interpretation of what electioneering, I suspect he was trying to do his job.

Call the media and the ACLU. It would be interesting if they cared. ABC news in SF wants to know if anyone has problems at polling places. This should interest them.

The SF Chron offers this as a place to report problems, for what its worth:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2003/09/25/question_form.txt

the law is the law.

I've been an Election Judge and Clerk in Texas; And I have to remark that this woman's complaint are familiar to me.

the environment at polling places have to be neutral - neither for or against anything. ANY activist element, no matter how small, breaks that neutrality.

I've told people to remove campaign buttons, to reverse shirts, to move cars that were plastered with campaign posters. A few have tried to resist, but when I ask if they want their opposition to advertise in the same way, they get the point.

I understand this woman's anger, but I have little sympathy for her. The Election Clerk might have been an A**hole, but what he did was necissary to keep voting impartial.

Cou;d the matter have been handled better?

Probably, but I don't know the people involved. When I've been faced with a similar situation I've taken the person aside, explained the law, and offered options - Reversing the Shirt, getting a drape, "Borrowing" a shirt from a clerk - anything to satisfy the voter and the law.

Sounds to me as if maybe the poll worker was right, maybe he was wrong. I can understand that you're disturbed about this, but it sounds to me as if the poll worker, probably hired by the day and given some instructions about electioneering, was trying to do the right thing.

Glad you reported him...what a creep.

I think the question we have here is was the blanket used to cover the t-shirt or to cover the Irish Lass?

IF the poll worker made you take the shirt off, then he was wrong.

IF you still had the shirt on under the blanket the he was just a jerk and could have been nicer but was correct.

How old are you? How could you not know that electioneering at a polling place is wrong? Listen, you tried to be a smart-ass and someone treated you as such. I am an Arnold supporter and I still don't sympathize with you. You knew what you were doing. Are you claiming that your entire wardrobe consists of candidate t-shirts? When you are doing grown-up work, act and dress like one. Don't use your lack of tact and taste as a chance for attention.

Doesn't anyone see just a little irony (given the LA Times alleged "groping" stories of the past week) in a poll worker asking a voter to remove her pro-Arnold T-shirt?

I'm not saying it's funny...just ironic.

Jim: "but it sounds to me as if the poll worker...was trying to do the right thing."

Demanding a woman take off her shirt as a prerequisite to voting is *never* the right thing. I would think it would qualify as sexual harassment: creating a hostile voting environment.

If he merely asked the woman to cover her shirt, that's one thing. But if he really insisted that she take it off, that's much too far.

Now...if it had been me, I'd like to think I would have stripped (maybe all the way) and gone to vote as a protest.

I had YEARS of bizzare behavior at my locan precient in West Los Angeles. One year they had a video camera filming the whole room. When I objected they said it was only taking one frame a second, as a "joke reel" for the volunteers.

It was never in the same place twice. Usually it wasn't even in the precinct - and you had to drive past other poling places to get to ours! There was even an elementary school (palms elementary) in our precinct that was the poling place for 4 other precincts, but not ours.

For the shirt - he should NOT have suggested that you remove it. He should have suggested that you turn it inside out, or cover it with a jacket, or lend you HIS jacket.

Call the local newspaper. Sexually harassed by a poll worker is the headline.

I'm amazed at how eager some of the commenters are to blame the victim. Even if the guy got the law right, which I seriously doubt, he was a jerk. In my book, there is no "trying to do my job" excuse for being a jerk.

I don't know the law on this, but that doesn't appear to be keeping others from posting opinions, so . . .

1) It seems like wearing the shirt was a bad idea. Upon reflection you will probably agree. You haven't had a chance to reflect, really, in part because:

2) The poll worker handled it all wrong. From your description of the incident, it was outrageous for him to suggest taking off the shirt as a solution.

That's my uninformed take on it.

What Xrlq said.

I am appalled and shocked. As a good liberal, I want my conservative brothers and sisters to know I find this repellant and abhorrent and do indeed think this is worth investigating.

Wearing a candidate's T-shirt into a voting area is flagrantly inappropriate. That doesn't justify rudeness on the part of the precinct worker, but turning this woman into Rosa Parks is a bit much. Next time, have the sense to leave the campaign propaganda at home.

I wouldn't think that a reasonable person would look at the signs saying "NO ELECTIONEERING WITHIN 100 FEET OF THE POLLS" and assume that means a woman wearing a campaign T-shirt has to remove the shirt.

A real man never asks a woman to remover her shirt in public. No matter if it costs him his job. I'm with xrlq. I don't know the law, but that kind of lewdness masquerading as officiousness masquerading as duty is abhorrent.

I agree with one of the previous comments that we should have a neutral polling place environment. Thus, no buttons, no shirts, no bumper stickers, etc. I would think that this should be posted going into each polling place. To wear a campaign shirt is to circumvent the rules against no campaign literature within X feet. You need a bright line rule and you need to adhere to it.

You're in California. Enough said.

Tacky on both sides.

Don't act like a jerk unless you want to be treated like one.

Sorry, why do you need a rule to keep people from expressing opinions in America? This goes to show how ridiculous the rule is. Imagine if she showed up and had an ahnold shirt. then she is told to take it off and what do you know she has a vote arnold bra on underneath. so she is required to take off the bra and... wait a minute, i changed my mind. I support this rule...

No, seriously. i mean what if she had "vote arnold" tatooed across her head? then she can't vote at all? or she has to wear a hat? This is stupid and we should not even waste our time with it. Let her say what she wants, but she should be required to be shirtless, just to bring up male turn out. :-)

The notion that we should suppress speech to "preserve democracy" is complete bunk.

Lets hope the LA Times doesn't get ahold of this story or we will treated to the following headline:

"Arnold fondles women at polling place"

Isn't there a difference between "electioneering" and "going to vote"? Hanging around and actually "electioneering" is one thing. Wearing a shirt in so that you can vote is something completely different. Are we that paranoid and do we have such little faith in voters that we think a woman wearing a t-shirt is the same as somebody standing there screaming "Vote [insert name here]!"

God help us if one of the Levi Strauss family runs for Governor.

Now, how far does this go? If a JOINARNOLD T-shirt is not OK, how about a T2 shirt? Kindergarten Cop? Arnold's Bar & Grill?

My understanding of California's law is that it is quite similar to Georgia's law (I'm a GA lawyer). Both base the conduct on solicitation of votes and distribution of materials. Wearing a t-shirt does neither causes minimum impact from a voter whose sole purpose at the location is to cast a vote. This is different from standing outside chanting "Vote Ah-nuld"

BTW, I think someone should send a DVD of "Kindergarten Cop" to each member of the Legislature once Arnold wins.

I'm sorry, but I just can't accept that wearing a candidate's t-shirt is "electioneering." Electioneering, in my mind, is taking active measures to persuade someone to vote a certain way at a polling place. Wearing a candidate's t-shirt simply informs people, if they care to look, of the way that you are going to vote.

It would be another thing if she was standing around the polling place in the shirt, or with a group of people wearing such shirts. While standing in line to vote? Seems over the top to me.

Erick is right, as far as I can tell.

I spent some time digging around Whitkin, and I do think that passively wearing a shirt while voting falls outside of our electioneering statute.

I'm free to be proven wrong, however- I didn't do much other digging than through the digest and pocket part.

Wait a minute everyone. We've only seen one side of this story. I'm not saying the bolgger is lying, but bloggers of any stripe tend to overstate things. On the other hand, as long as she wasn't trying to convence anyone to vote a certain way - in an active manner of speech or reading material - a tee shirt, hat, button, ribbon or whatever worn by an individual who will be in and out quickly would not sway an individual's vote at that point. Most people who actually vote have already made up their mind about candidates and don't pay much attention to electioneering outside the legal limits at polling places, so why would it sway one's mind INSIDE the legal limits?.

Tempest in a tea pot, me thinks this be. She DID get to vote.

I'm surprised at how many people leap to take this tale as gospel. Assuming the whole thing isn't made up, it would be nice to get the other person's side of the story before calling him names.

The poll worker was a jerk, but any person who has ever voted before knows you can't do any electioneering (is that even a word?) inside the polling place. I don't understand the tears either. For God's sake the man couldn't force her to take her top off. She should have gone and got a jacket, or as many have said, turned the top inside out and then voted. Sure, the man deserves to be reported. He acted like a lout. But don't they have signs in California that says no campaigning past this point? If not, the state should look into requiring them.

We've moved on to the statutory definition of electioneering, and whether passive wearing of a shirt constitutes that under California election law.

Looking like it doesn't, but we'll see.

Can anyone name one, just one, occasion where it would be legal for a man to force a women against her will to remove her shirt?

Really that is the issue. That was the poll workers solution and his solution was wrong and harmful.

How typical to accuse the victim and call her a liar and an idiot after all she went through. If you don't believe her, why bother reading at all?

As for getting the other side of the story, why don't one of you go find the jerk and get his version? I think it is stupid to expect Irish Lass to have to present his side too.

It is also ironic how easy to it is get pedantic about rules and regulations without thinking once about what a woman would be going through mentally when asked to remove her shirt in public.

Life-size mental picture:

Voter enters polling place with sample ballot in hand all marked out "Recall - No; Bustamante - Yes."

Voter sees Irish Lass wearing JoinAhnold shirt and says to self, "Gee! I never thought of that -- I'm voting Ahnold!!"

. . . I think not.

Irish Lass, ya could have pulled a GreygeDavis and just smacked the guy.

That guy was a jerk. And I'm far from convinced that a person wearing a t-shirt (or a button) into the polling place qualifies as "electioneering".

(Suppose I wore my Terminator 2 shirt, with Arnold's half-cybernetic mug all over it? Is that "electioneering" too?)

Handing out literature or sample ballots, waving signs, yelling slogans, etc are electioneering. Wearing a t-shirt? Not hardly.

Maybe Eugene Volokh or some other legal blogger would be kind enough to summarize the actual laws.

Life-size mental picture:

Voter enters polling place with sample ballot in hand all marked out "Recall - No; Bustamante - Yes."

Voter sees Irish Lass wearing JoinAhnold shirt and says to self, "Gee! I never thought of that -- I'm voting Ahnold!!"

. . . I think not.

Irish Lass, ya could have pulled a GreygeDavis and just smacked the guy.

Life-size mental picture:

Voter enters polling place with sample ballot in hand all marked out "Recall - No; Bustamante - Yes."

Voter sees Irish Lass wearing JoinAhnold shirt and says to self, "Gee! I never thought of that -- I'm voting Ahnold!!"

. . . I think not.

Irish Lass, ya could have pulled a GreygeDavis and just smacked the guy.

A Tshirt is not electioneering. It is a paranoid delusion to suggest that it is.

This election worker went too far with his lewd officiousness.

Next time, insist the election worker remove his "Vote Davis" button.

Bryan- as far as hoping for a legal blogger, take your pick. Justene here is an attorney, as is Xrlq, Erick, and several other commentators. I'm a law student currently.

There's tons of decent and plausible, legal opinion floating around here.

1. The election worker was a jerk about it, certainly as it's being recalled here.

2. There is a difference between "forcing a woman against her will to remove her shirt" and saying that a particular shirt was illegal electioneering (rightly or wrongly) and that it couldn't be worn within 500 ft of the polling place.

3. If the poll worker's solution was telling the Irish Lass to take off her shirt, that was certainly harrassment.

1. The election worker was a jerk about it, certainly as it's being recalled here.

2. There is a difference between "forcing a woman against her will to remove her shirt" and saying that a particular shirt was illegal electioneering (rightly or wrongly) and that it couldn't be worn within 500 ft of the polling place.

3. If the poll worker's solution was telling the Irish Lass to take off her shirt, that was certainly harrassment.

I am sure the young woman believes she was sexually harassed and the intention of the poll worker was lechery.

I wish people who chose to vote understood the rules for voting and the CENTURIES of tradition behind those rules.

She clearly made a decision to support a candidate when she chose the shirt to put on over her bare breasts in the morning. She may even have felt a little bit smug about being able to campaign for her candidate all the way to the voting booth.

Wearing a candidates shirt, a button, a hat, or scarf with a recognizable candidate statement are all stages of electioneering? How do you know? Ask yourself. . . did the campaign prepare the button, shirt, hat, etc. for the individua to wear? You bet! Why? Because people ARE influenced by what they see and read. That is what campaigning is all about.

yes, California does require that the sphere of influence lines are marked at every polling place. I for one am glad. In every election someone is right at that line, handing out advice and literature about a candidate or a ballot measure. And this is where the poll watchers and election result reporters stand to ask voters what they voted for. I am glad they can not get any closer.

I have been voting for 40 years. . .the last 24 in California. I once saw a poll worker apply duct tape to a person's upper arm - where they had witten the name of their candidate in indelible ink.

Just wondering, but did the Irish Lass ever consider going home and changing clothes?

Go back to the poll. Get his name. Contact the voting rights section at the U.S. Department of Justice.

In addition to being a violation of your right to vote, it was probably a violation of equal protection. If the Justice Department isn't interested, file a civil suit in federal court. This is a juicy lawsuit just waiting to be filed. Do not let the bastards get away with it - or else the next time maybe it's your blue jeans, if your candidate's color theme for his campaign is blue. Please speak up - if you don't, nobody will.

You know, I've been voting in Florida for over 20 years and I've never heard of these laws until today. Go figure. The guy handled it like a jerk. He should have explained the rules to her politely and allowed her to choose how to handle the situation.

Oh please...maybe the election worker was being "Mr. Tough Guy" in the wrong context, but I think he was simply going to absurd lengths to prove to Ms. Lass that, yes, he was serious about upholding the election laws in one of the most contentious state elections in history. I mean, does anyone really think this guy was going to physically take her shirt off? Did he try and tell any other women that they had to take their shirts off? Was he doing this on the basis of sex, or would he have acted the same if a male with a campaign t-shirt had tried to vote? Come on, people. This is not a violation of equal protection rights. Let's save our voting fraud outrage for the real civil rights violations, not piddling damsel-in-distress drama shows like this.

Is a politician voting considered electioneering?

Imagine all those voters standing around Arnold being too frightened to pull the lever all the way on the left.

Wearing a t-shirt with a candidates name on it, walking in, voting, and leaving is not electioneering.

Anti-electioneering laws are intended to prevent intimidation and harassment of voters. The only intimidation and harassment of voters going on here was by the poll worker.

So is wearing a D’fft strokes shirt also electioneering? I mean with 135 candidates, how would they ever know if a shirt is related or not. You could be wearing a Gallagher shirt (because face it, you can’t let go) and shock of shock you get accused of electioneering for the comedian!

> She clearly made a decision to support a candidate when she chose the shirt to put on over her bare breasts in the morning. She may even have felt a little bit smug about being able to campaign for her candidate all the way to the voting booth.

Or maybe she had run out of clothes and that was the only shirt that didn’t smell bad.

Or maybe she gave it no thought at all.

Or maybe she just had no idea that our electioneering laws were so stupid and draconian.

Sorry, there is no compelling interest here, which is the legal test.

> yes, California does require that the sphere of influence lines are marked at every polling place. I for one am glad. In every election someone is right at that line, handing out advice and literature about a candidate or a ballot measure. And this is where the poll watchers and election result reporters stand to ask voters what they voted for. I am glad they can not get any closer.

Yeah god forbid you are mildly annoyed at the place of polling by other people expressing themselves. Hey if they were obstructing you that would be one thing, but just talking to you, expressing an opinion, asking questions? I don’t see the compelling interest in suppressing speech.

So is wearing a D’fft strokes shirt also electioneering? I mean with 135 candidates, how would they ever know if a shirt is related or not. You could be wearing a Gallagher shirt (because face it, you can’t let go) and shock of shock you get accused of electioneering for the comedian!

> She clearly made a decision to support a candidate when she chose the shirt to put on over her bare breasts in the morning. She may even have felt a little bit smug about being able to campaign for her candidate all the way to the voting booth.

Or maybe she had run out of clothes and that was the only shirt that didn’t smell bad.

Or maybe she gave it no thought at all.

Or maybe she just had no idea that our electioneering laws were so stupid and draconian.

Sorry, there is no compelling interest here, which is the legal test.

> yes, California does require that the sphere of influence lines are marked at every polling place. I for one am glad. In every election someone is right at that line, handing out advice and literature about a candidate or a ballot measure. And this is where the poll watchers and election result reporters stand to ask voters what they voted for. I am glad they can not get any closer.

Yeah god forbid you are mildly annoyed at the place of polling by other people expressing themselves. Hey if they were obstructing you that would be one thing, but just talking to you, expressing an opinion, asking questions? I don’t see the compelling interest in suppressing speech.

I don't specialize in elections law, and I've only read the table of contents and some of the pertinent text of the California Elections code, so this isn't intended as legal advice. But as I read Elections Code section 18541 (the only section I found that deals, more or less, with political activity at polling places), it only forbids soliciting votes with the intent to discourage a person from voting. I very much doubt that wearing a T-shirt would qualify.

There is another section that prohibits unjustified challenges of a person's right to vote, which I think would probably apply to your bullying poll worker.

You blew it. Unless your bra was a see-through, you should have removed your shirt and called his bluff and been the hero of the day. Ah.... too late now :)

Just be glad Arnold wasn't working that polling place.

He'd have taken your shirt off for you.

And he wouldn't have asked first.

If she had removed her shirt and proceeded to vote in her bra, no doubt that same blowhard would have told her that the polling place required shirts and shoes.

Hrm. Gotta agree with the poll worker, here. I don't know if the issue is settled constitutionally , or if it's still up in the air (which is what I suspect). But it seems to me like it shouldn't be allowed.

Also, buck up. Crying? Come on now.

A reasonable poll worker would have asked the Lass to slip into someone's coat or asked her to step aside and turn the shirt inside out.

The poll worker sounds like a Greyout devotee.

You blew it. Unless your bra was a see-through, you should have removed your shirt and called his bluff and been the hero of the day.

She wasn't wearing a bra.

Was the poll worker Mexican by any chance?

Oops, I re-read it and she was wearing a bra.

My question stands.

Every election I've ever been to, there are campaign workers handing out sample ballots and other literature at the place where they are allowed to stand. Every time, some people take that literature and carry it with them into the polling place. Some people openly hold it in their hands and read it while standing in line. Presumably others around them are capable of recognizing "that's the blue handout; that's from Party X" or "that's the green handout; that's from Party Y." Is it illegal electioneering to hold those items in public view in the polling place?

Note: I'm not a California voter, and I recognize that state laws may vary.

Oh, and even if the shirt was illegal, ordering the wearer to remove it seems to me to be clearly beyond this man's authority. At most, he may have had the authority to order her to leave.

I am not a First Amendment expert, but I have strong doubts about the constitutionality of a law, at least as enforced by Herr Poll Worker, which purports to prevent people from wearing clothing supporting a particular candidate. I realize that there are laws which can and do enforce reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on speech (so long as the law is content neutral), without violating the constitution. Certainly laws which prevent people from carrying around signs and handing out brochures in a polling place are reasonable time, place and manner restrictions that serve a legitimate government purpose (i.e. permitting people to vote without being intimidated). However, banning clothing, simply for carrying the name of a candidate, seems one step too far. Any thoughts from a First Amendment lawyer?

Wearing a t-shirt with a candidate's name, party, or political position is advertising same. As such it is considered electioneering. A bit anal-retentive, yes, but the law is good at straining at gnats and swallowing camels.

The poll worker was still in the wrong here, though. The procedure burned into our brains as poll workers in Texas is to tell them to either cover it up, go change, or go turn the shirt inside-out. Telling the voter to take her shirt off is NOT an option, and in this case would indeed constitute both sexual harassment and a Voting Rights Act violation. I don't care much for lawsuit abuse or trivial suits based on mere inconvienience, but if the facts are how you described them, you have been legaly injured, and a lawsuit in this case would be reasonable, not trivial

You should have decked the guy. Sorry you had to go through this.

I like combining Duh's response with mine. Take off the shirt. Vote. Put the shirt back on. Deck the jerk.

I like this even better.

Take the shirt off. Vote. Put the shirt on. Slink up to the jerk. Pull him up off his lazy butt in a sexy fashion. Knee him in the ... then deck him. Then finish off with some comment like, "Thanks for the campaign law tip, have a nice day."

Sounds like a Hollyweird script, but that would have been great. 20/20 hindsight, eeh?

Again, sorry you had to go through this.

What the hell is Bill Clinton doing as a polling volunteer!!?? I don't believe this for a sec...a liberal democrat gone amok....good thing Arnold won. Bustamante now want to work with Arnold...when the other day he threatened Arnold that if he ever touched his daughter he would have to deal with him......Yeah, right...BoostYourTaxes would rolly polly him to death...ha ha ha

What the hell is Bill Clinton doing as a polling volunteer!!?? I don't believe this for a sec...a liberal democrat gone amok....good thing Arnold won. Bustamante now want to work with Arnold...when the other day he threatened Arnold that if he ever touched his daughter he would have to deal with him......Yeah, right...BoostYourTaxes would rolly polly him to death...ha ha ha

What the hell is Bill Clinton doing as a polling volunteer!!?? I don't believe this for a sec...a liberal democrat gone amok....good thing Arnold won. Bustamante now want to work with Arnold...when the other day he threatened Arnold that if he ever touched his daughter he would have to deal with him......Yeah, right...BoostYourTaxes would rolly polly him to death...ha ha ha

What the hell is Bill Clinton doing as a polling volunteer!!?? I don't believe this for a sec...a liberal democrat gone amok....good thing Arnold won. Bustamante now want to work with Arnold...when the other day he threatened Arnold that if he ever touched his daughter he would have to deal with him......Yeah, right...BoostYourTaxes would rolly polly him to death...ha ha ha

Couldn't you have turned the shirt inside out and gotten on with voting and then bring suit?

i am amazed that this woman is getting any sympathy at all and i am disgusted when i think about what people have sacrificed for the right to vote and this spoiled imbecile thinks here breasts are the center of attention.

people didn't get firehosed in the street so some miserable crybaby can wear her snarky little t-shirts in a polling place.

grow up.

Uhh...

Sorry to bust everyones' revenge fantasy, but assault on an election official is a felony,

In Texas, it's in Texas Penal code Chap 5, sec 22.01, clauses a, 3,b,1:

(section is about Assault, in all it's varous forms )

"(b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the offense is committed against:

(1) a person the actor knows is a public servant while the public servant is
lawfully discharging an official duty, or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or performance of an official duty as a public servant;"

Which is certainly true for election Officials.

* 3rd Deg. Felony is 2 - 10 years in jail, Fine up to $10,000.

I expect California has a similar law.

A disruption at a polling station could also be

"§ 38.13. Hindering Proceedings by Disorderly Conduct", which is a Class A Misdemeanor.

This gets deep, folks......

In this case, Texas Law has this:

(Election code, Title 6 )
"§ 61.010. Wearing Name Tag Or Badge in Polling Place

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person may not wear a badge, insignia, emblem, or other similar communicative device relating to a candidate, measure, or political party appearing on the ballot, or to the conduct of the election, in the polling place or within 100 feet of any outside door through which a voter may enter the building in which the polling place is located."

This is a Class C Misdemeanor.

California Law is undoubtably different, But I'm not willing to wade into that mudpuddle.
I do expect that there are similar laws, to cover similar situations, Texas has a nasty history of Election Fraud and chicanery, so our laws cover a broader range of "Slick Moves".

ymWv ( Your Milage WILL vary)

This jerk was way out of line, and needs to be dealt with. No option was given to cover, but only to disrobe? That is actionable and that action needs to be taken to eliminate a real problem. As to the judgement in wearing the shirt, that can be argued. What can't be argued is the clear harrasement, denigration, and abuse of power. File charges, file a suit. Stop this type of behavior at all costs.

Now, the next time any of y'all shake your heads about some $100 million lawsuit because somebody tried to floss his teeth with a weed-whacker or somesuch, please remember this thread, and all the responses telling the poor lass to run out and sue the pants off anyone who even *looked* at this polling place.

Everybody wants to play the legal jackpot when it's their own ox being gored.

The official didn't, even in this woman's self-serving account, tell her "Take that shirt off right now and lemme see yer boobs." He told her that she had to remove the shirt in order to enter the polling place. (Why not a jacket or a cover? Think about it. "Oopsie, my jacket fell open so everybody can see my political slogan! Silly little me!")

Now, the next time any of y'all shake your heads about some $100 million lawsuit because somebody tried to floss his teeth with a weed-whacker or somesuch, please remember this thread, and all the responses telling the poor lass to run out and sue the pants off anyone who even *looked* at this polling place.

Everybody wants to play the legal jackpot when it's their own ox being gored.

The official didn't, even in this woman's self-serving account, tell her "Take that shirt off right now and lemme see yer boobs." He told her that she had to remove the shirt in order to enter the polling place. (Why not a jacket or a cover? Think about it. "Oopsie, my jacket fell open so everybody can see my political slogan! Silly little me!")

Now, the next time any of y'all shake your heads about some $100 million lawsuit because somebody tried to floss his teeth with a weed-whacker or somesuch, please remember this thread, and all the responses telling the poor lass to run out and sue the pants off anyone who even *looked* at this polling place.

Everybody wants to play the legal jackpot when it's their own ox being gored.

The official didn't, even in this woman's self-serving account, tell her "Take that shirt off right now and lemme see yer boobs." He told her that she had to remove the shirt in order to enter the polling place. (Why not a jacket or a cover? Think about it. "Oopsie, my jacket fell open so everybody can see my political slogan! Silly little me!")

I make no pretense of knowing CA election law. I am frequently sworn in as BOTH the D and R sherriff in my precinct , and,well, guess what, wearing a shirt isn't electioneering. (And those who say otherwise haven't read the statute...)

chx
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who actually arrested someone at a polling place

There is only ONE situation I can think of where a {strange} man can ask a woman in public to remove the shirt she is wearing...when he is working for the store where she just shoplifted the shirt.
Other than that, the entire incident is overblown...
1.) IrishLass should NOT have worn a shirt that in some way endorses one candidate over another to a polling place.
2.) The [paid] volunteer should NOT have been such an A**HOLE about how he attempted to get her to comply with the law.
3.) Unless he ACTUALLY forced her to remove the "offending" shirt, he did not harass her sexually, just in general. Obviously, he needs a job where he doesn't deal with the public.
4.) The law is explict to prevent abuse. Either you let EVERYTHING into the polling place or NOTHING...I usually spend too much time waiting in line to vote as it is, without having to wait for people to turn their shirts inside out. PLEASE use a little "common" sense, people!

I have been an election judge for many years. In Arizona, the shirt would be electioneering. So are buttons, stickers, etc. Our solution was a roll of wide painter's masking tape. It covers the offending slogan, removes easily without leaving residue, and is quick. The poll worker was probably correct in his law, but totally out of line in his handling of the situation.

Sharon - yeah, i'm an election inspector in California; such a t-shirt is electioneering under California rules. That said, the precinct worker mishandled the situation horribly.

The story stinks..........In this scenario, there were tons of options.......no monkey is going to say to a woman, "you must take your shirt off". Common sense, folks. He might have said, "You can't wear that shirt in here", and then maybe muttered "dumb ass" under his breath. She got busted for being stupid and is trying to 'make a scene' about it.

You do a good work, keep it going

Ok, first of all a person working at the polls is not going ot be this stupid. They know the rules and if ylu had such a big problem with it why didn't you leave and coem back. OR turn the shirt inside out. This story is fake and irritating. You shoudl know the rules if you don't get to know them. What your doing is causing a big scene!

Ok, first of all a person working at the polls is not going ot be this stupid. They know the rules and if you had such a big problem with it why didn't you leave and come back. OR turn the shirt inside out. This story is fake and irritating. You shoudl know the rules if you don't get to know them. What your doing is causing a big scene!

Wearing buttons is not electioneering, I looked this up and I found that the poll workers were the ones not allowed to wear them. I am not sure if wearing a shirt is much worse than wearing a button. If everyone wears a shirt I don't see the problem as long as they are not carrying signs or yelling out chants, I don't see the problem.

In Texas, the law basically says no electioneering within 100ft of an entrance/exit to the pooling place. That being said, I live in Hick-ville, Texas and I think that even if I took a tape measure and marked off the exact distance from the polling place and then began to chant and wave signs, I would probably still be arrested by the Good 'Ole Boys (aka most city and county deputies around here). To top it all off, they'd probably give you a good thumpin' back at the station just for good measure. Get real people, we live in America. This stuff happens every day. The only people who don't know it are the rich (and they're all voting for Dubya anyway).

I'm a polling place worker - I can tell you that you were both right. He was right in that you can't wear anything - t-shirt, button, pants, poncho - that promotes a political view or could be interpreted as doing that. That said, HOWEVER - you were right in that this was handled about as badly as possible. We're told in training that in such cases, we give you two options. 1) Take it off (if it's a button or other easily-removed item, such as a hat) or (2) turn it inside out - in the restroom, if there is one, but you could reasonably ask, and expect, to be given some private space to do this in. I hope you got the jerk's name and wrote (in writing, it doesn't go away as easily) to the county election board. I'm so sorry you were treated this way! I just saw this, so yeah, I'm a year late, but I hope you don't let this keep you from voting again.

It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax over wine. Heraclitus (540 BC - 480 BC), On the Universe