A Madison County woman will not be prosecuted for wearing a political T-shirt to the polls during November's election.
Brightwood resident Leigh Purdum was arrested about a month after she refused to cover her John McCain T-shirt on Nov. 4 at her Brightwood precinct polling place.
The American Civil Liberties Union -- which, in December, appointed four lawyers to defend the case -- had said it believed Purdum was the only person arrested as a result of the Virginia State Board of Elections' decision to ban political clothing at polling locations.
This session, the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill that would discount the ban, allowing people to wear shirts, hats, buttons, stickers, or other apparel containing a candidate's name or political slogans inside polling places.
Following news of the progress of the legislation, Madison County Commonwealth's Attorney George S. Webb III met with the county's electoral board, whose secretary initially filed the complaint, according to previous reports.
"That's when the decision was made not to proceed, not to prosecute," Webb told The Madison County Eagle this week.
Although the bill has not yet been signed into law by Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, Webb said he "can't imagine" Kaine will refuse to sign it.
"I would have had a real hard time getting a judge to convict realizing what the General Assembly had done," he added.
Although the state law prohibiting campaign materials within 40 feet of a polling place on Election Day had been on the books for years, in October 2008, State Board of Elections officials ruled "campaign materials" to include T-shirts, buttons, pins, stickers, hats, and other materials supporting the election or defeat of a particular candidate or issue.
Last Election Day, when Purdum approached her polling place wearing a T-shirt featuring the word "McCain," Brightwood poll workers told her the shirt would need to be covered for her to vote, according to previous reports.
Purdum refused, and was allowed to vote, although those at the poll informed her that a complaint would be forwarded to the commonwealth's attorney.
Webb told The Eagle this week of his plans to notify the judge of his decision not to prosecute the case.
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