Conn. Backs Down On WWE Garb Ban At Polls
Updated: Tuesday, 26 Oct 2010, 9:17 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 26 Oct 2010, 9:09 PM EDT
BY LUKE FUNK
MYFOXNY.COM - Connecticut's Secretary of State has apparently backed down from a ban on WWE clothing at polling stations on election day.
It comes a few hours after World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to stop Connecticut election workers from asking voters to cover up WWE merchandise at the polls.
McMahon -- the husband of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon -- filed the lawsuit against Conn. Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz.
“Within hours of filing the lawsuit, (Richard) Blumenthal recused himself, and Bysiewicz reversed her position and immediately notified all Local Registrar of Voters and Town Clerks via email. I am pleased that Connecticut voters have had their freedom of expression and their right to vote restored,” said Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO, World Wrestling Entertainment.
Last week, Bysiewicz's office said poll workers would have the discretion of asking voters wearing WWE paraphernalia to cover it up or go home and change before entering the voting area.
McMahon said he planned to wear WWE garb when he casts his ballot on Nov. 2.
“Denying our fans the right to vote, denying them their First Amendment rights, regardless if they are Democrat, Republican or Independent, is un-American, unconstitutional and blatantly discriminatory,” said McMahon in a previous statement.
WWE merchandise could potentially be deemed "political" because Linda McMahon, the company's former CEO, is on the ballot, and the WWE brand "is so ubiquitously associated with the McMahons," the department initially stated.
Linda McMahon, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, stepped down from her position as WWE CEO in September 2009 to launch a self-financed campaign. She is facing Democrat Richard Blumenthal in the midterm elections.
Blumenthal, the Conn. attorney general, had recused himself from defending the secretary of state's office in the lawsuit.