“Make America Great Again” apparel is banned from Indiana polls during Tuesday’s primary, the Courier & Press reports.
Vanderburgh County Clerk Carla Hayden said that poll officials have been directed to not allow anyone wearing or representing the slogan into the polling locations because it is too closely linked with Senate Republican candidate Todd Rokita. Rokita was shown in a television ad wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat showing his support for President Trump.
Rokita keeps up the criticism of his two GOP opponents in his latest Senate campaign ad that ends with Rokita putting on a MAGA hat. https://t.co/ZulNe2Gv8R via @YouTube
— Maureen Groppe (@mgroppe) April 3, 2018
Hayden told the Courier & Press, “Anything identified with a specific candidate, we would either ask them to remove it or, if it’s like a t-shirt or something, we’ll ask them to turn it inside-out or place a jacket over it” and added that they’d, “treat it no differently than we would any other campaign paraphernalia.”
Indiana state law prohibits political campaigning with 50 feet of a polling place and includes a litany of restrictions on who can enter polling locations. Voters are asked not to wear clothing advocating for a particular candidate.
Rep. Rokita has been a member of the House since 2010 but decided to run for one of the two Illinois Senate seats that Republicans believe could be flipped. Rokita is currently running against another member of Congress — Rep. Luke Messer. A third politician has entered the race, and that’s former Illinois representative, Rep. Mike Braun.