Constitutional Law

WWE head takes fight over Conn. election garb to court

By By The Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. — World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon, the husband of U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon, yesterday filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop local election workers from asking WWE fans to cover up their wrestling garb at the polls.

McMahon, also president of the Connecticut-based wrestling empire, said he filed motions for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz from violating voters? free-speech rights. (See court documents.)

Bysiewicz, though, said she believed her office?s position had been misunderstood and stressed that people won?t be deprived of the right to vote on Nov. 2 based on what they?re wearing. She issued a memo to local registrars of voters yesterday, clarifying how only clothing or other items that solicit for or against a candidate or ballot question would be prohibited.

?Nobody is going to be banned from a polling place because they?re wearing a WWE T-shirt and prevented from voting,? she said.

Vince McMahon quickly took credit for causing Bysiewicz to ?back down.?

State election law prevents political advertising within 75 feet of the polls.

Bysiewicz?s spokesman, Av Harris, has said that if local election officials believe a voter is wearing a WWE garment with a name, likeness, slogan or logo that could been seen as distracting or interfering with voting, that person could be asked to cover it up or turn it inside out. He said the secretary?s advice to local election officials did not mean voters wearing WWE items will be stopped from voting. The clothing issue, he said, will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Vince McMahon, who lives in Greenwich, called Bysiewicz?s original directive a ?flagrant act of censorship and discrimination.? In his lawsuit, he said he plans to wear WWE paraphernalia when he votes Nov. 2.

But Bysiewicz said she did not issue a directive to local registrars until yesterday.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal?s office, which would represent the secretary of the state?s office in court, issued a statement saying that Blumenthal, the Democratic candidate in the closely watched Senate race, recused himself from the matter.

Vince McMahon received some support from an unlikely source: Blumenthal?s campaign.

Campaign manager Mindy Myers said the campaign doesn?t consider WWE clothing to be political advertising or covered by any law that restricts political action near polling places.

?People should be able to wear their WWE clothes to vote,? Myers said.

Vince McMahon has voiced concern with how his wrestling company has been portrayed throughout the Senate race. He recently launched an Internet-based public relations campaign dubbed ?Stand up for WWE? to encourage fans to voice support for the company.

State Democrats filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, accusing WWE of illegally coordinating with Linda McMahon?s Senate campaign. Both have said the political campaign has nothing to do with the ?Stand up for WWE? effort.

A Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday showed Blumenthal continues to lead Linda McMahon by double digits in the race to fill the seat currently held by Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, who?s retiring.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on October 26, 2010 (boomark / email).