LEWISBURG -- Union County officials soon may decide to crack down on the use of cell phones at polling sites, as well as how much campaign attire voters can wear into the voting booth.
The potential changes were discussed Tuesday by the county board of elections, which learned of issues brought up by other counties during the recent state election conference.
Union County Commissioner John Showers said some local poll workers are concerned about the disruptive nature of cell phones, particularly as voters wait in line to confirm their registration and enter the booths.
"We do have one precinct that has potential for a lot of confusion with people waiting in line with cell phones," Showers said. "We may be able to have a rule where once they sign in, no cell phone use is allowed."
Another key issue the election board plans to address next month is how much campaign attire, including buttons and T-shirts promoting candidates, voters can wear while voting. Showers said there was an incident last spring when a voter wearing a T-shirt with a photo of a candidate printed on it caused a disturbance.
"A judge of elections told the voter to turn the T-shirt inside out," said Thomas Clark, county solicitor. "There isn't supposed to be any advertising inside the polling place. It's part of the election code. There is to be no (campaigning) inside the voting area."
According to Showers, workers at some polling places have taken issue with voters wearing buttons and other attire promoting candidates. Local election officials said the Department of State hasn't taken a stand on the campaign clothing issue.
That shouldn't stop local officials from making a decision soon, Showers said.
"We should have a written policy, so we're consistent in how we enforce this in every precinct," he said. "We just need to decide to what degree we're going to stop it."
Union County Commissioner William Haas said the county should be careful in how far it restricts campaign attire. "What happens if I was an average voter who was out campaigning for someone and just stopped in to vote?" he asked. "What are they supposed to do if they're wearing a T-shirt with a photo and large buttons? The purpose of me being there is not to urge voters to vote for this person but to vote myself."
Haas said supporters who campaign outside the polls are more disruptive than voters who may be wearing eye-catching campaign gear inside.
n E-mail comments to jnorth@dailyitem.com.
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Campaign attire, cell phones may be restricted at polling sites
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