Inspired by a Georgia man made to remove his cap before voting because it carried the logo of the National Rifle Association, the Georgia Senate on Wednesday approved a measure meant to clarify what "campaign material" is and is not allowed near polling locations.
Senate Bill 199 comes more than a year after Douglas County elections officials made a local man, Bundy Cobb, take off his NRA cap while he was inside his polling place because they said the organization was too closely aligned with Republican candidates. Cobb complied, but the NRA sent a letter of protest to the county. State officials later clarified that Cobb should have been allowed to wear the cap while voting.
Georgia law prohibits display of political speech in a polling place. At the time, Douglas County officials said poll workers were trained to tell anyone in a voting area with clothes bearing political speech to remove or cover it.
The bill, however, more explicitly spells out that campaign material refers to a candidate or referendum question on the ballot, as well as a political party that has a nominee on the ballot.
"What this bill does is go into more details so the poll worker can understand it better," said the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Rick Jeffares, R-McDonough.
Democrats, angry that the chamber’s Republican majority barred them from proposing changes to the bill from the floor, said the bill as written could hurt voters who bring in nonpartisan printed material to help them make up their minds while looking over a ballot.
SB 199 passed on a 39-15 vote. It now goes to the state House for consideration.
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