No ban on WWE clothing at Conn. polls; Vince McMahon files federal lawsuit
Published: Wednesday, October 27, 2010
By Ed Stannard, Register Metro Editor
Wearing a T-shirt depicting the Undertaker or a WWE logo will not mean you can’t vote next week, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said Tuesday.
Vincent K. McMahon, chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, filed suit earlier in the day in federal court against Bysiewicz after reports surfaced over the weekend that she had advised election moderators that they could tell voters wearing WWE garb to cover it up or leave and change their clothing at Tuesday’s election.
McMahon’s wife, former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, is the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate against Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
Later Tuesday, Bysiewicz issued a statement saying that simply wearing WWE clothing is not a violation of the law prohibiting campaigning within 75 feet of a polling place. Continued...
“In preparing for this election, be advised that it is the position of this office that simply wearing WWE apparel at the polls, including apparel with the trade name or logo of the WWE or the name or photograph of any WWE entertainer that does not display the name or photograph of Linda McMahon, U.S. Senate candidate, or the name or logo of Ms. McMahon’s campaign does not trigger a violation,” Bysiewicz’s statement said.
News media over the weekend had reported that WWE-emblazoned clothing alone would be enough to be turned away at the polls.
“Some people made the assumption that our office first issued some directive or ruling” but it did not, Bysiewicz said in a telephone interview. “We have never said that someone would be banned from voting based on some article of clothing. … People’s right to vote is absolutely precious.”
She added that asking someone to go home and change their clothing would be “tantamount to being disenfranchised” and would not be permitted. However, campaign buttons bearing a candidate’s name or picture or politicking in the polling station are not allowed.
The weekend reports had triggered an angry response from Vince McMahon, followed by his federal lawsuit.
“On behalf of myself, my company, WWE fans and any Connecticut citizen who wants to exercise their constitutional right to vote, I have filed a lawsuit today asserting that Susan Bysiewicz’s directive that allows poll workers to refuse registered voters wearing WWE merchandise the right to vote is a flagrant act of censorship and discrimination,” McMahon said in a statement.
The lawsuit quotes state law, which states that on Election Day, “No person shall solicit in behalf of or in opposition to the candidacy of another or himself … or loiter or peddle or offer any advertising matter, ballot or circular to another person within a radius of seventy-five feet” of any entryway to a polling place.
The suit says Bysiewicz’s advice violates the First Amendment’s protection of free speech, and the Fifth and 14th amendments’ guarantees of free expression.
Vince McMahon says in the complaint that he plans to wear “WWE clothing, paraphernalia or merchandise” when he goes to his Greenwich polling place Tuesday.
The dustup over WWE clothing followed accusations of federal election law violations by both Democrats and Republicans.
Mindy Myers, Blumenthal’s campaign manager, issued a statement saying, “We don’t consider WWE clothing to be political or covered by any law that restricts political action close to polling places. People should be able to wear their WWE clothes to vote.”
The suit, filed by former U.S. Attorney Stanley Twardy, among others, of Day Pitney in Stamford, asks for a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction prohibiting Bysiewicz from applying election laws to prohibit voters from wearing WWE-related clothing.
Deputy Attorney General Carolyn K. Querijero issued a statement saying, “Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has recused himself from this case. We will review the lawsuit and consult with the secretary of the state’s office.”
