When Joanna Chesley, an educator in Forsyth County's school system, showed up to vote in her "Wine Party" t-shirt shortly after polls opened on Election Day, she was "dumbfounded" when volunteers didn't let her in.
"I can't believe I go to cast my vote for presidency of this country and my First Amendment rights are violated at the polls," Chesley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
According to Chesley, one of the polling station volunteers outside the Forsyth County administration building on Main Street told her she couldn't wear the shirt inside. According to state law, the volunteer said, voters aren't allowed to promote a candidate or party.
"I thought she was joking," Chesley said. "I wasn't promoting any party."
Chesley was escorted to the bathroom to turn her t-shirt inside out before being directed inside the building to vote, but said she thinks the volunteers crossed a line.
"I asked a lot of people at the location if they were offended by my shirt and they couldn't believe what happened," she said.
"This election has everyone on edge and my shirt was only meant to make people laugh and relax. And for many it did," Chesley said.
When contacted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, another Forsyth County polling volunteer said this shouldn't have happened in the first place.
"If the context has anything to do with any slogans, they're asked to turn their shirt inside out," volunteer Joann Mulrey told The AJC. "But that shouldn't have happened."
Mulrey said she'll be contacting the office manager to address the issue.
