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TEMPLE. Ga. - Carroll County election officials acknowledge a man wearing a pro-Trump shirt was mistakenly turned away from a voting booth after a polling worker believed the political shirt should be banned from a polling area.
"Especially in this area-- I never thought I would have been turned away. I never dreamed this would happen... denied the right to vote over a t-shirt," said David Myer, a long-time Temple, Georgia resident who lives in a part of the state that's considered a conservative and Republican stronghold.
Election officials said a worker was misinformed about the rules banning campaign-related shirts; restrictions only apply to political officials or candidates on the current ballot.
When Myer went to the Temple Recreation Complex to vote Tuesday, he tells FOX 5, he was approached by a polling worker about his shirt, which reads in part, "Trump Calls Me American."
"All he could tell me was there were campaign signs saying, no campaigning allowed," Myer said, whose shirt also mentions, in part, former President Obama and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. "None of them are on the ballot. None are running for elected office," he said, puzzled by the worker's request, and left the voting facility.
After he called Carroll County Elections officials, he said supervisors told him the polling worker was mistaken. Myer returned to cast his vote wearing a pro-Second Amendment t-shirt.
Carroll County Elections officials tell FOX 5, the polling worker needed clarification on understanding O.C.G.A 21-2-414 on elections and restrictions of campaign paraphernalia in polling areas. Voters cannot wear political shirts relating to candidates or issues on the ballot; a pro-Trump shirt in the May 2018 election would be exempt from such scrutiny.
The county attorney is still investigating the allegations against the polling worker, officials said. The worker was told about the error and allowed to proceed with the rest of their duties, that election day. Officials said that ordeal was the only incident of its kind that day.
"Know your rights and be willing to stand up for your rights," Myer advised other voted.