What you can’t wear or do when voting

The polls are open and people have been lined up since before the sun came up.

Before you head out the door to cast your vote, there are some things you need to know so you don’t get in trouble after standing in line.

First of all, check what you’re wearing.

The Secretary of State’s Office says you aren’t allowed to wear anything that promotes a candidate on the ballot, or you won’t be allowed in the polling place.

“No person, when within the polling place, shall electioneer or solicit votes for any political party or body or candidate or question, nor shall any written or printed matter be posted within the room,” O.C.G.A. § 21-2-413 and 21-2-414 state.

That means you can’t wear a MAGA hat, but you can wear a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, since BLM isn’t promoting a candidate or statute.

However, "“If somebody had a T-shirt on that says ‘Black Lives Matter endorses a candidate that’s on the ballot,’ in that particular election, that would fall into electioneering,” Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie told 11 Alive News.

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Next thing to do is either turn your cellphone off or leave it in your pocket. Using a cellphone inside a voting precinct is against the law, so you can’t pull it out to check your ballot choices, text with a friend or take a selfie.

“We strongly encourage you to post the peach, but we ask that you do it outside or vehicle or home,” Dougherty County elections supervisor Ginger Nickerson told WALB News.

You are allowed to bring notes, however, so write your ballot choices down if you need a guide while voting.

Polls are open until 7 p.m.