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US Elections 2020 ‘Trump vs Biden’: MAGA hats, BLM tees and RBG pins, here's what NOT to wear while voting

What you wear on the big day matters as you need to stick to certain rules. Did you know electioneering (aka campaigning) is banned in most states?

America is set for the United States Presidential Elections 2020 on November 3, 2020, and all eyes are stuck on President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden. As more celebrities and political figures are urging people to take part in the 59th quadrennial presidential election, are you ready to cast your vote? Of course, the first step is to: Research the candidates, know the ballot measures, and look up your polling place.

However, many voters tend to forget one of the most important things is to pick the right outfit. Yes, you heard that right. What you wear on the big day matters as you need to stick to certain rules. Did you know electioneering (aka campaigning) is banned in most states? To make things clear, you must not wear any political garb, T-shirts, head accessories, or badges with your favorite candidate's name or party. Wondering why these rules exist? Well, the logic is to not instigate anyone around and let everyone choose their pick in peace.

Jessica Levinson, a professor and expert on elections and politics at Loyola Law School, sketched out a basic idea to InStyle. “The basic idea is that once you enter the polling place, it’s this sacred place where you can find Nirvana and vote for your representative, free from voter pressure or intimidation or confusion,” she explained and added it includes banning voters from sporting “the equivalent of a lawn sign” within a sightline of your neighbors casting a ballot.

A similar sentiment surfaced on Twitter too. "This just occurred to me: when standing in line to vote DO NOT WEAR ANYTHING REMOTELY POLITICAL. No BLM tees, no RBG buttons. Don’t give any reason for getting pulled out of line. See the @ACLU abt your voting rights. #BidenHarris #RBGRevolution," Molly Cantrell-Kraig — a former single mother who established Women With Drive Foundation — tweeted. Rob Anderson, candidate for Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District seat said, "Listen to what Molly is saying. Don’t let them cheat you of your right to vote." One tweet read: "You cannot wear anything even remotely political when voting. It is considered “campaigning”. They will make you leave and change your shirt, hat, etc."

So, what can you wear and most importantly — what can you NOT wear? As per NSCL, "restrictions usually include limiting the display of signs, handing out campaign literature, or soliciting votes within a pre-determined distance (typically 50 to 200 feet) of a polling place." Here's the list as per different states set in 2018:

New York

What to avoid:
Do not carry any political banner, button, poster or placard in or upon the polling place.

California

What to avoid:
A display of a candidate’s name, likeness, or logo. A display of a ballot measure’s number, title, subject, or logo. Buttons, hats, pencils, pens, shirts, signs, or stickers containing electioneering information.

New Jersey

What to avoid:
Do not display, sell, give or provide any political badge, button or other insignia to be worn.

Texas

What to avoid:
According to Alicia Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Texas Secretary of State’s office: "You're not allowed to electioneer at the polls. That would obviously include things like campaign T-shirts or a hat." So avoid wearing 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.

Delaware

What to avoid: 
Any button, banner or other object referring to issues, candidates or partisan topics.

Kansas

What to avoid: 
Do not wear, exhibit or distribute labels, signs, posters, stickers or other materials that clearly identify a candidate in the election or clearly indicate support or opposition to a question submitted election within any polling place.

Montana

What to avoid:
Badge, button, or other insignia that is designed or tends to aid or promote the success or defeat of any candidate or ballot issue to be voted upon at the election.

South Carolina

What to avoid:
Do not display any identification, including, but not limited to, campaign stickers or buttons.

Tennessee

What to avoid:
Any display of campaign posters, signs or other campaign materials, distribution of campaign materials, and solicitation of votes for or against any person, political party, or position on a question are prohibited.

Vermont

What to avoid:
No campaign literature, stickers, buttons, name stamps, information on write-in candidates, or other political materials are displayed, placed, handed out, or allowed to remain.

Minnesota

What to avoid:
Back in 2018, Supreme Court turned down a law that prohibited voters to wear political garb. At that time, a person wearing a Tea Party logo and a “Please ID Me” pin was turned away.

So what to wear?

If you were planning to take out that MAGA hat, BLM T-shirt or RBG buttons, keep it away. “You can go ahead and wear your, ‘I support unicorns’ T-shirt and they may give you a hard time and you can fight it,” Emerson J Sykes, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said, as per the InStyle report. “If you’re not looking to necessarily be the lead plaintiff [in a First Amendment case], bringing alternative apparel is probably a safe bet.”

Basically, wearing an outfit that is politically neutral would be perfect so as to avoid any conflict. If you still fall into trouble, you can always call the Election Protection Hotline (866-OUR-VOTE) or the Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline (800-253-3931).