Can you wear a Trump or Harris hat to the polls? It depends on where you live

Millions of people have cast their votes without incident so far this election. Although in some reported cases there have been problems with what voters wear to the ballot boxes.

With early voting underway in Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters recently that there have been several instances of voters wearing “inappropriate clothing” in support of a political candidate.

“It’s campaigning, and it’s definitely something you shouldn’t do,” Salazar said at a press briefing last month.

Things “got ugly” in one case last month, he said, when a man allegedly punched a 69-year-old poll worker at an early voting location in San Antonio. The altercation occurred while the man was being escorted out of the venue after being asked to remove a political hat, according to Salazar. The man was wearing a red “MAGA” or “Trump” baseball cap, according to an incident report.

“I can’t think of anything like this happening in my time here as sheriff,” Salazar said.

At an early voting location in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, last week, a poll worker and voters got into an argument after the voter was asked to remove his “Let’s Go Brandon” hat, according to a police report and video of the incident.

In the video, the man can be heard saying, “That’s my (expletive) right” as he holds up his hat before throwing it away. In the middle of the argument, a poll worker allegedly punched the man in the face, according to the incident report. The poll worker was not arrested, but was issued a summons.

The incidents draw attention to laws restricting forms of political activity in or near polling stations to prohibit campaigning or any activity aimed at influencing the vote in an election.

Every state has restrictions on campaigning in some form near polling places, “such as limiting the display of signs, distribution of campaign literature, or solicitation of votes within a predetermined distance (typically 50 to 200 feet) of a polling place,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Nearly half of the states, including Texas and South Carolina, have statutes that limit what you can carry to vote, according to the NCSL.

These 21 states have statutes restricting campaign clothing — such as shirts, hats and buttons — in polling places, according to the NCSL: Arkansas, California, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey , New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont.

NCSL’s analysis is based on what is stated in the articles of association. The organization advises voters to check with their local election official, as the implementation of election laws can vary within a state.

For example, in addition to those 21 states, Massachusetts “prohibits the wearing of certain political apparel (t-shirts, hats, buttons, pins, stickers, etc.)” within 150 feet of a polling place, according to a 2024 election advice. Examples of prohibited materials include those that include a candidate’s name or face on the ballot and slogans “that are closely aligned with or actively used by candidates and campaigns,” according to the guidance.

Political attire is not allowed at polling places in Missouri, Georgia and Louisiana, according to their respective secretaries of state. Campaigning is prohibited within 25 feet of a polling place in Missouri, within 150 feet in Georgia, and within 600 feet in Louisiana.

Poll workers in Wisconsin are also advised that “politically themed attire or materials/garments/buttons supporting a candidate, political party or ballot initiative” are not allowed at the polls, according to educational material for poll workers.

The restrictions on political clothing may extend to political references beyond the candidates or questions on the ballot.

For example, in Texas, “advocating, including expressing preference for or against any candidate, measure, or political party, whether or not on the ballot, or in connection with the conduct of an election, is prohibited.” Texas secretary of state said in a latest advice.

Election laws have a “long history,” according to Ohio State University law professor Steven Huefner.

“In many states, they’re responding to times when voters were more intimidated at the polls or more influenced,” he told ABC News. “They responded to the potential for these types of activities to have more of an impact on the lesser-known breeds.”

He said voters may not be aware they exist in their state “unless they’ve had it happen to them or unless they’re an election junkie.”

Penalties for violating election laws can include fines or imprisonment, although people are typically asked to remove or cover up political items in order to vote.

Some voters may see restrictions on campaigning as a suppression of their First Amendment rights, Huefner noted.

“This is really a very narrow and selective exemption from that based on the desire to keep the electoral process as secure as possible,” he said. “Safe includes preventing campaigns and their supporters from improperly influencing people when they vote.”

Voting laws have been challenged in several states through civil rights lawsuits, with some cases reaching the US Supreme Court.

In one 1992 decisionthe Supreme Court found that a Tennessee law limiting political campaigning to within 100 feet of a polling place did not violate the First Amendment.

In one 2018 decisionthe high court found that Minnesota’s law barring political clothing at polling places was overbroad and violated the First Amendment. A voter filed the suit after he was temporarily barred from voting in 2010 for wearing a T-shirt with a Tea Party logo and a button advocating photo ID voting requirements.

Today, Minnesota bans “campaign t-shirts, buttons or literature relating to specific candidates, official political parties or ballot questions on that day’s ballot” in polling places, according to Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.

In Texas, a woman sued after she had to turn in a T-shirt in support of a ballot while voting in a 2018 election. The complaint alleged that the state’s unconstitutional election laws chilled her right to free speech, and that enforcement was inconsistent. The laws were ultimately upheld by the Court of Appeal after the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Huefner said enforcement of the restrictions “can be quite inconsistent” between poll workers or polling places, which can lead to confusion.

“It’s often enforced by volunteers who are poll workers who may not even have had much training in how to handle this, or in one county may have been well trained and in another county other people are not well trained,” he said .

Huefner said eliminating any differential enforcement is key, while also urging voters to “extend some grace” to volunteers at the polls.

“Volunteers have really been under some pretty sustained, unfortunate attacks recently and it’s all undeserved,” he said. “They perform this critical public service.”

In the Texas incident cited by the Bexar County Sheriff, 63-year-old Jesse Lutzenberger was cited Oct. 24 for injury to an elderly person, a third-degree felony, according to the sheriff’s office. Salazar said his office was investigating additional charges of assaulting an election worker.

Amid a “particularly contentious election cycle,” Salazar said he wanted to address the incident to “lower the tone of what’s going on out there.”

“Look, nothing here is worth getting hurt or going to jail for,” Salazar said. “There’s no point in bringing up a criminal case, picking up a criminal history – or injuring or even killing someone in the name of politics. It just doesn’t make sense.”

An attorney for the defendant told ABC News that he is “honored to represent Mr. Lutzenberger, a veteran of the United States Navy.”

“We are eager for our opportunity to defend Jesse,” attorney Jonathan Watkins said in a statement. “We feel that the facts of this case have been mischaracterized by local media.”

In the Orangeburg County incident, the South Carolina Elections Department confirmed it is investigating but would not comment on an open investigation.

Orangeburg County Elections Director Aurora Smalls said in a statement that the county “works hard to ensure that elections are safe, secure and run smoothly, allowing all eligible voters to vote in fair and impartial elections in accordance with state and federal regulations.”

ABC News’ Chris Boccia, Matt Foster and Kerem Inal contributed to this report.