Audio By Carbonatix
A settlement’s been reached in a lawsuit filed by the Goldwater Institute on behalf of a Coconino County woman who was told in 2010 by election officials that her Tea Party T-shirts were not allowed in polling places. Thanks to the settlement, as long as the Tea Party isn’t an actual political party, the shirts will be allowed, and the county has agreed to “implement objective standards at voting precincts to enforce the state electioneering law while protecting the voters’ right to free speech.”
New Times broke the story about Diane Wickberg and her Tea Party T-shirts in June of 2010. See that story here.
According to the Goldwater Institute, “Coconino County’s new rules
define electioneering to provide that only conduct that advocates for or
against a candidate, a political party, or an issue on the ballot may
be banned at the polling site. The County has also agreed to provide
additional training to poll workers for objective enforcement of
election laws and to protect against discrimination in the polling
place.”
Goldwater attorney Diane Cohen tells New Times
that while singling out Tea Party garb is unconstitutional, and Coconino
County has agreed to implement new rules when it comes to what’s not
allowed at polling places, the real problem is the state’s broad definition of “electioneering.”
Arizona law bans “electioneering” within 75 feet of any polling place, but the term is very loosely defined in state statute.
Cohen
says the state needs to amend the law to more narrowly define what
“electioneering” actually is — something, she says, is falling on deaf
ears.
“The secretary of state’s been nowhere on this,” she says.
Cohen
says the Goldwater Institute’s found an ally in state Representative
Jeff Dial, who introduced HB 2676, which clearly defines
“electioneering.”
Dial’s bill would amend state election law to define “electioneering” as follows:
For the purposes of this section, “electioneering” means express
advocacy in support of or opposition to a candidate who appears on the
ballot in that election, a ballot question that appears on the ballot in
that election or a political party with one or more candidates who
appear on the ballot in that election. Electioneering does not include
the wearing of any items of apparel, including shirts, hats or buttons,
without regard to whether those items bear the name, likeness or
designation of any candidate, ballot question or political party that
appears on the ballot in that election, and voters shall be permitted to
wear those items while otherwise lawfully present at a polling place.
The state as a whole has some work to do when it comes to deciding what “electioneering” actually is, but in Coconino County, Diane Wickberg can now wear her Tea Party shirts wherever — and whenever — she wants.
“I’m
grateful Coconino County recognizes we do not give up all of our rights
to free speech when we cast an election ballot,” Wickberg says in a
statement from the Goldwater Institute. “Now, voters will know our
fundamental freedoms are protected as we carry out our civic
responsibility at the polling booth.”
