Were you planning on wearing that “Obama ’08” shirt or the “Country First” political pin when you visit the polls on Nov. 4? You should probably think again.

Arizona state election laws prohibit voters and poll workers from wearing anything with a political message within 75 feet of a polling site. This is not a new law, but one that is being emphasized even more this year due to the highly polarized election atmosphere.

That seems logical to me. When people go to exercise their right to vote, they should not be intimidated by those around them. But that’s not how the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sees it.

The chapter is petitioning the Secretary of State’s Office to interpret the laws more loosely, allowing voters to wear shirts, pins, and other political paraphernalia as long as it is “silent and passive.” Secretary of State Jan Brewer declined to oblige.

The argument of the ACLU is that the laws violate voters’ right to free speech. If the law is enforced, the ACLU insists that the state provide clothing to cover the forbidden material, free of charge.

This has also been dismissed by the state.

My question is this: If the law has been in effect for years, why is it all of a sudden a problem now? And how exactly is it a problem? Our freedoms, though guaranteed in the Constitution, are not guaranteed carte blanche. One cannot yell “fire!” into a crowded room, for example; nor can a person publish lies about a person or organization without incurring consequences.

The simple reason for that is that rights have limits. We can exercise our rights as long as we don’t infringe upon the rights of others. And don’t we all have a right to vote in peace?

As Tammy Patrick, a federal compliance officer with the Maricopa County Elections Department told the ACLU, “People are passionate about their presidential candidate but that does not give anyone the right to impose that opinion on other voters when they are attempting to exercise their right to vote.”

So what makes this form of political speech any different? After all, who knows that the people in a polling place are truly voters and not political activists?

Honestly, if I was running for an elected office and the law was interpreted to allow “silent and passive” speech, I would send as many people as I could to each polling place with my shirts and buttons.

The fact of the matter is that this form of speech is not any different. Politicians are not allowed to have their signs within 75 feet of a polling place, and for good reason. I don’t see how a shirt or button with said politician’s name, face or slogan is any different.

There is enough pressure when you go to a polling place to vote without people bringing shirts and other political memorabilia into the picture. Feel free to wear that Obama shirt or Palin pin, but stay behind the 75 foot line — otherwise, bring a jacket or take it off.

Or better yet, just leave it at home altogether.

Janne is a criminology and criminal justice graduate student and can be reached at janne.gaub@asu.edu.