Can you wear campaign gear to vote on Election Day? What Pennsylvania law prohibits
With just a few days left before Election Day, there’s no better time to make plans to vote in Pennsylvania.
Millions of Pennsylvanians and voters across the country will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 5 to cast their votes for president, senator, congressional representatives and other local candidates. You might be especially excited to vote for a particular ticket or candidate, but could wearing campaign gear to your polling place cross the line?
Here’s what you need to know about wearing campaign paraphernalia to the polls in Pennsylvania, plus other voter’s rights to keep in mind.
Can I wear political gear to my polling place in Pennsylvania?
Yes. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, voters can wear campaign gear and political paraphernalia to the polls so long as they don’t actively engage in electioneering — usually defined as directly soliciting votes for candidates or intimidating fellow voters.
“No person, when within the polling place, shall electioneer or solicit votes for any political party, political body or candidate, nor shall any written or printed matter be posted up within the said room, except as required by this act,” Pennsylvania law reads.
While using words to solicit votes and directly shape voter opinions is forbidden inside polling places, clothes are usually seen as an exception, according to state officials.
“Enforcement of the prohibition on electioneering should not prevent eligible voters from voting,” the Pennsylvania Department of State wrote in its 2024 polling place guidelines. “Thus, in the department’s view, individual voters who appear at the polling place to exercise their right to vote are permitted to wear clothing, buttons or hats that demonstrate their support for particular candidates.”
Poll watchers and other election officials cannot campaign for specific candidates or wear political gear, state guidelines say.
Under Pennsylvania law, voters have many rights while at the polls. While casting their ballot, voters can use their electronic devices, read through campaign materials and even take a selfie with their ballot as long as it does not expose information about other voters’ choices. Campaign materials must be removed from voting booths once voters depart, state guidelines read.
How can I vote in Pennsylvania?
Deadlines to register to vote and request mail-in or absentee ballots for the Nov. 5 election have already passed, but it’s not too late to make a plan to vote in Pennsylvania.
Polls across Pennsylvania are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election Day. Even if you’re waiting to vote past 8 p.m., you will get to cast your ballot so long as you remain in line.
If you’re voting by mail or using an absentee ballot, your county’s election office must receive your ballot by 8 p.m. Nov. 5 to count. Mail-ins that arrive past that deadline — even with a postmark before the deadline — will not be counted.
Voters who cast their ballots early through mail or absentee ballots may also choose to drop off their completed ballots using secure drop boxes scattered throughout each Pennsylvania county. Some boxes — including those in Centre County — will close before Election Day.
Additionally, Pennsylvania makes emergency absentee ballots — reserved for those who encounter last-minute barriers to voting in person on Election Day — available by request starting at 5 p.m. Oct. 29. Those who otherwise attempted to vote by mail but didn’t successfully cast their ballot may be able to vote using a provisional ballot at their polling place.
About 9.16 million Pennsylvanians are registered to vote as of Oct. 28, according to voter services data. That figure well exceeds the roughly 9.09 million eligible voters in Pennsylvania registered during the 2020 presidential election.
Republicans hold new voter registration advantages in four counties — Beaver, Berks, Bucks and Fayette — that previously leaned in favor of Democrats, according to 2020 end-of-year registration data published in 2021. Registration edges aside, Pennsylvania remains home to roughly 3.99 million registered Democrats and about 3.71 million registered Republications.
Even minor advantages in voter registration could help Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes lean in favor of Democrats or Republicans. Joe Biden carried the commonwealth by just 1.2% in 2020, while Donald Trump won its electoral votes by an even-slimmer 0.7% margin in 2016.
Since 1900, the winner in 24 of 31 presidential elections (77%) wound up carrying Pennsylvania.
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