Why did Exeter woman vote topless in NH primary? State laws on what you can wear to polls

EXETER — Former town moderator Paul Scafidi has seen a lot overseeing 29 elections. But to this day, the “most bizarre” thing he ever witnessed at the polls was when a woman voted topless at the 2020 New Hampshire primary.

“That’ll probably go down with my name on it for the rest of my life,” he said.

Scafidi said the woman, who he recalled as “short and in her 50s,” had walked into the polling station on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, wearing a “McCain Hero, Trump Zero” T-shirt.

When she was asked to cover her shirt because its message was considered electioneering under New Hampshire law, she simply said, ‘Do you want me to take my shirt off?’

“Before I could say, ‘Well, that’s up to you,’ she took her shirt off and said, ‘Is this better?’” he recalled.

New Hampshire, like most states, bans electioneering (a.k.a. campaigning) inside the polling place.

According to the National Conference of State Legislators, 21 states prohibit campaign apparel, buttons, stickers and placards within a pre-determined distance of the polling place.

The rationale behind the law, according to officials, is the polling place is considered to be a neutral and unbiased area where voters should be able to cast their votes without feeling influenced or intimidated.

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Kate Miller, the current Exeter town moderator, was the assistant town moderator in 2020. She said she hopes not to see another topless voter in Exeter.

“She wanted to cast her ballot and she did,” said Miller. “Hopefully not to be repeated.”

Miller said campaign apparel is a form of electioneering, according to New Hampshire law.

“Voters are not allowed to be wearing or holding signs that advocate for one candidate or the other, of one party or the other, or against one party or against the other party,” she said. “They’re not allowed to wear a button that says, 'Vote for (candidate’s name),' or a hat that is obviously associated with one candidate or a party.”

According to state law, campaign apparel and electioneering are not allowed within 10 feet of the entrance to the polling station.

“You can’t have people coming out and mingling with voters and trying to get them to vote for different people,” she said. “We have barriers and people can stand behind with their signs, shirts and buttons.”

The so-called “No Electioneering Zone" begins at the entrance to the polls and extends out in a 10-foot-wide access path to the polling location.

Outside that zone, you can legally wear and campaign for the candidate of your choice.

According to state statute, those violating electioneering laws face a civil penalty of up to $1,000.

Miller said there are also town and state laws governing where campaign signs can be placed.

She said people are not allowed to leave signs on the property of the polling location.

“It’s not one where folks can pound a sign onto the ground and leave it there then walk away,” she said. “If folks want to have a sign, they have to be holding it. They can’t prop it against the wall or be on the ground… You’ll occasionally see us walking outside and picking up signs and putting them flat on the ground if they’re not where they should be.”

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Scafidi said he never considered calling the police on the woman who voted topless, which may have led to a charge of public indecency since it was in a school.

He said there were “no children and only a few people in there” at the time.

“I didn’t want to go there,” he said.

The woman cast her vote and went on with her day, Scafidi recalled. By the time she exited the building, Scafidi said her shirt was already back on.

“The only one that was embarrassed by it was probably her and me a little bit,” he said. “I think it was a publicity stunt.”

Scafidi recalled waking up the next day to numerous phone calls, learning that the “topless voter in Exeter” had gone viral.

It was covered by news outlets globally.

“My daughter in California called me, she said I was in the LA Times,” he said. “Even her friends in France saw it.”

Scafidi joked that in all of his years of training as town moderator, nothing could’ve prepared him for that incident. He said even four years later, people still ask him about the “topless voter.”

“I think people just laugh about it now,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Why did woman vote topless in NH primary? Here's a look at state laws