New Hampshire Woman Votes Topless When Told She Can't Wear Anti-Trump T-Shirt

In Exeter, New Hampshire, a woman tried to vote while wearing an anti-Trump t-shirt. The workers at the polling place told her she couldn't vote in that shirt because it "violated electioneering rules," according to The Huffington Post.

So, she did what any good American who will go to great lengths to exercise their right to vote would do. She took her shirt off and voted topless, which, apparently, is perfectly legal.

The shirt in question depicted both John McCain and Donald Trump and called McCain a "hero" and Trump a "zero." The woman, who has remained unidentified, appeared at her polling place, a local gymnasium, in the shirt to vote in her state's primary election. 

Seacoastonline.com reports that the town moderator, Paul Scafidi told her she could not wear a shirt depicting a political candidate while she voted. He said that there was another woman nearby wearing an American flag t-shirt and the woman in the anti-Trump shirt "questioned why she was being singled out."

But it turns out that while flags are just fine, actual faces of political candidates are not. "State law states no person 'shall distribute, wear, or post at a polling place any campaign material,' in part, and if convicted, is subject to a fine up to $1,000." That's a lot of money for a t-shirt. 

So Scafidi told her she would have to cover up her shirt if she wanted to vote. He said that at that point, she asked him if he wanted her to take her shirt off. "I said I'd rather she not," Scafidi said.

But she didn't listen to him. She quickly took her top off and surprised everyone. Scafidi said, "She took it off so fast, no one had time to react so the whole place just went, 'Woah,' and she walked away, and I let her vote. She could've just gone into the hallway and turned it inside-out."

Yes, that probably would have been a reasonable thing to do. Scafidi says he could have called the police to remove her, but he didn't want to escalate things even further. Instead, he just let her vote without a shirt on. She put it back on as soon as she stepped out of the voting booth. 

"I don't know if she was trying to have me get her arrested, but I thought it was better to just let things play out," Scafidi said. "I don't think there were more than 15 voters in the building at the time and if there were any children there, I didn't see them."

After she left, poll workers just laughed it off. I imagine they encounter some pretty interesting people and see some pretty silly things while they work. I wonder if she got an "I Voted" sticker when she left.

"If she felt it was her right, more power to her," Scafidi said. "We all laughed about it as things were winding down, so I don't know if it was a set-up, but I've never experienced anything like that.

"We had more important things to worry about; we had to get 2,000 people to vote safely, and check in and count 2,000 absentee ballots." Thank goodness for our poll workers. Make sure you thank yours when you go to vote.