Confusing Voter Registration Laws Could Affect Presidential Election

I have never heard of this. I don't know if people should be arrested. I can see taking their button until they come out or turning them away. I'm half tempted to try it to see what would happen.

To the best of my knowledge they only make you remove the button and put it in your pocket or out of site. The law has been in effect for quite sometime as far as I know. Both parties give handouts with their names on them but you have to put them in your pocket or out of site when you go in to vote. Why is the law so confusing? I didn't read the article but from what you said I don't see anything confusing. Just don't wear anything political, including clothing, to the polls.

Hello KrazyKlingon, What a great discussion topic! Since there are two distinct issues here, I'll address them separately. First, I have been an election polling judge for years. So, I've had to be 'the bad guy' who has to ask someone to conceal their political buttons, t-shirts, hats, brochures, signs, etc... Geesh, people get really angry about it, even though polling judges and poll workers are just doing the job that they have been entrusted to do. Here is the statute from my state: "1-20-16. Electioneering too close to the polling place. Electioneering too close to the polling place consists of any form of campaigning on election day within one hundred feet of the building in which the polling place is located, and includes the display of signs or distribution of campaign literature. Whoever commits electioneering too close to the polling place is guilty of a petty misdemeanor." Every state has some variation of this law. The most notable variations relate to the distance. Many states designate 100'. Others designate 50' or 30'. The point behind the law is to provide a unencumbered environment, where a voter can vote in peace without being inundated with campaign election materials. As for college students voting: I did not find it burdensome to vote 'absentee' when I was in college and university. I support the position that college students "reside" at their legal residence, and not at a dormitory. As I see it, the student should be required to vote in the district that coincides with their legal address, as it is registered with the Registrar or Bursar. The reason for my strong support of this is too prevent election fraud. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard of college students voting 'on-campus', then driving a two or three hour drive to then vote at their home polling district, as well. There is virtually no cross-checking between counties within most states, so there is simply too much wiggle room for voter fraud. Every other citizen is subject to precinct designation based on 'legal address'. So, why should it be any different for college students?

I worked an election once and we were told that if they were wearing a pin, to ask them to remove it, and if they were wearing a shirt, to at the least, turn it inside out, put something over it or go and change. Only if they refused to leave would the athorities be called to remove them. Now, I know that some people pulled up to vote that election that had bumper stickers on their cars inside the limit, but since they were not leaving them there the whole day, we didn't say anything about it. If they had tried to do that we would've had to. For example, our car did have stickers, but we were parked outside the limit.