The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, underlined its efforts to protect voters’ access to the ballot box as early voting continues in advance of Election Day. (Getty Imges)
Voters can’t wear campaign garb into polling places. It’s a law, not a courtesy, that sparked a scuffle at an Orangeburg County early voting site that’s under investigation by state law enforcement.
State law doesn’t allow campaign materials within 500 feet of the entrance to a polling location. That rule isn’t limited to candidates. It also means voters can’t broadcast their support of anyone on the ballot by distributing or wearing hats, shirts, buttons, pins, posters and flyers.
The State Election Commission has posters at every polling place to remind voters of those rules.
But in Orangeburg County on Wednesday, a voter didn’t want to remove his hat, which said, “Let’s Go Brandon,” according to WIS-TV. (It’s a phrase that took off last October among fans of former President Donald Trump as a substitute for using profanity about President Joe Biden.)
Told he couldn’t vote after cursing at a poll worker, the voter threw his hat toward the person who was videotaping the dispute. The argument escalated and people stepped in to break it up, according to the video circulating on social media.
A spokeswoman for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division confirmed Thursday that it is investigating the scuffle. It could be the first SLED investigation of conflict at the polls for this general election. Spokeswoman Renee Wunderlich did not know of any others.
As per state law, poll managers “shall use every reasonable means” to keep polling places “clear of political literature and displays” within 500 feet of the entrance. At poll managers’ request, law enforcement officers will remove anything “distributed or displayed” in violation of the law.
According to a state Election Commission spokesman, voters who show up to polling place wearing campaign gear will be asked to remove it or cover it up so it’s not visible to other voters.
Not wearing it to the polls would be the easier solution.
The only exception to the 500-foot ban on campaign material is for the candidates themselves. They can wear a badge with their name and the office they’re seeking outside the polling place but must take it off before entering and talking to people inside.
There are other legal no-no’s at the polls.
State law also bans people from carrying a handgun at a polling place. Having a concealed weapon permit doesn’t exempt voters from that law.
Voters also can’t show their ballots to anyone. That includes taking a photo of it, so selfies at the ballot box are not allowed.
Early voting continues statewide through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. By the close of polls Wednesday, 1.1 million South Carolinians had voted early in person.
On Election Day, all precincts open at 7 a.m. The cutoff for anyone to join a line is 7 p.m. Anyone in line at that point can stay in line as long as it takes to vote.
NoCampaignMaterials_SEC BSL 2072-202209