When an Exeter, New Hampshire woman was told this week by election officials that she could not vote in the state's primary in the anti-Trump t-shirt she was wearing, she quickly found an easy solution. She simply voted topless.
The state's motto is "Live free or die," after all.
The t-shirt in question—which read "McCain Hero, Trump Zero"—was in violation of electioneering rules according to the town moderator Paul Scafidi.
According to the local news outlet Seacoastonline, New Hampshire state law states that voters cannot "distribute, wear, or post" anything campaign-related at a polling place, or face a fine of $1000.
Scafidi interpreted the unnamed woman's shirt to fit the bill. Since neither McCain nor Trump were on the ballot Tuesday, the woman objected and pointed out a woman nearby wearing an American flag shirt.
Scafidi replied that an American flag was not electioneering and that the woman would have to cover the shirt in order to vote. She responded by asking him if he wanted her to take her shirt off, despite not wearing anything underneath.
And that's when it all happened—and fast.
As Scafidi told Seacoastonline:
"I said, I'd rather she not."
"But she took it off so fast, no one had time to react so the whole place just went, 'woah,' and she walked away, and I let her vote."
"She could've just gone into the hallway and turned it inside-out."
Talk about making a point! After she was done voting, the woman simply put her shirt back on and walked out.
As for Scafidi and his coworkers, there wasn't much else to do but laugh.
"We all laughed about it as things were winding down, so I don't know if it was a set-up, but I've never experienced anything like that."
There were was plenty of levity on Twitter, too.
And most people were firmly Team Topless Woman.
Scafidi could have had the woman arrested under New Hampshire indecency laws or fined her for the shirt, but saw no need. With 2,000 absentee ballots to handle, Scafidi said he and his fellow election workers "had more important things to worry about."
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
