Expect Wrestling Swag At The Polls In Connecticut
STAMFORD, CT (WCBS 880) - The WWE will be giving away goodies near voting booths on Tuesday for the Connecticut elections.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reports
Podcast
LISTEN: WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau on Democrats brining in star power
Podcast
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Paul Murnane with gubernatorial candidates in Bridgeport
Podcast
Connecticut Secretary of the State, Democrat Susan Bysiewicz, says things were misconstrued and misstated when she voiced concern about World Wrestling Entertainment stuff around the voting booth. She meant only anything with a candidate's name on it.
A deputy for Bysiewicz told WCBS 880 reporter Paul Murnane, "There's nothing in the statute that says a violation shall cause a voter to lose their right to vote."
WWE CEO Vince McMahon, husband of Republican U.S. Senate nominee Linda McMahon, called it un-American.
He filed suit and won, and now, under "stand up with free merch" on the WWE website, the organization says it will hand out goodies at some polling locations on Tuesday, abiding by state law to stay at least 75 feet away - to celebrate Constitutional rights, they say, and freedom of expression.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Connecticut's top election official to allow voters to wear World Wrestling Entertainment garb to the polls, ruling that it could not be considered political advertising for Linda McMahon, the company's former CEO.
U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton issued a stipulated order requiring Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz not to apply state election laws that restrict political advertising within 75 feet of polling places to the wrestling fans who wear WWE clothing, paraphernalia or merchandise on Tuesday.
