In one of the most intense elections in American history, one Georgia woman’s love of wine almost cost her her vote. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Joanna Chesley, a school cafeteria worker of Forsyth, Georgia, woke up Tuesday morning ready to cast her ballot like many of her fellow Americans. In honor of Election Day, she set out for the polls dressed in her “Wine Party” shirt, a lighthearted v-neck tee displaying support for the bottle over either political party. The shirt lists three parties: Republican, Democrat, and Wine, with the last of the three box options checked off.
But upon her arrival at the polls, Chesley was denied entrance by volunteer workers. She was told that voters are not permitted to visibly display support for either candidate or political party, including, amazingly, the political party “Wine.” “I thought she was joking,” Chesley told the Atlanta Journal-Consitution. “I wasn’t promoting any party.”
Chesley was “dumbfounded,” and proceeded to ask people around her if they found her shirt offensive. But she was informed that for her to gain access to the polls, she would have to be escorted to the bathroom to turn her shirt inside out. For someone who sought to bring laughter and lightness to a rather serious situation, the scenario played out rather otherwise.
We can all agree that wine was almost essential to get through this trying election season; the shirt was a breath of fresh air on a tensely suffocating day. Chesley describes feeling that her First Amendment rights were violated in being denied entrance to the polls based on what she was wearing. Did Forsyth volunteers take this one too far?
Let us know what you think. And should want that t-shirt, you can find it here.
Header image via Red Bubble
