Slogans, logos and emblems: what not to wear when going to vote

In the context of the current electoral campaign, the use of shirts that incorporate the motto ‘Que te vote Txapote’ must be understood as included in the prohibition established in article 93 of the LOREG”. The Central Electoral Board (JEC) has decided that the phrase “That I vote for you Txapote”, a slogan against Pedro Sánchez that has spread, cannot be worn on shirts when going to the polls to vote on July 23.

This is a specific resolution, but not the only one. In application of the electoral law (LOREG), the electoral authorities have prohibited the display of various messages and symbols in polling stations, either by voters or by intervenors and proxies.

What does the electoral law say?

He article 93 of the electoral lawwhich is the one that regulates the voting process, says that “Neither in the premises of the sections nor in the immediate vicinity of them may electoral propaganda of any kind be carried out.. It adds that “groups likely to hinder, in any way whatsoever, access to the premises may not be formed, nor will the presence in the vicinity of whoever or who may hinder or coerce the free exercise of the right to vote be admitted.. The President of the Board will take the measures in this regard that he deems appropriate.

Restrictions Affect Voters and Auditors

The restrictions that have been specified over the years through JEC agreements do not always affect proxies and interveners in the same way (they can carry the logo of their party on a visible accreditation) as voters.

A case involving both. In June 2015, the general representative of Chunta Aragonesista asked the Central Electoral Board if proxies and auditors, on the one hand, and voters, on the other, could “wear a shirt with a print of the logo or initials of the party.”

The JEC framed everyone, proxies and voterswithin the prohibitions of article 93 and stated that “LOREG prohibits electoral propaganda of any kind from being carried out in electoral premises or in the immediate vicinity, prohibition that includes wearing shirts with the name, logo or initials of a political formation”.

On the other hand, we find cases in which the restrictions are stronger for the attorneys-in-fact and intervenors. In 2016, the representatives of the electoral coalition Unidos Podemos asked if their parents could wear t-shirts training identification. The JEC prohibited it.

One year later, in November 2017, the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC) consulted if the auditors and proxies could appear at the polling stations wearing yellow ribbons, a symbol of independence. This was not a query about something that they, as PSC, were interested in porting, but rather something that they sought to avoid in other formationsas they argued that the use of the yellow ribbon was being “promoted by nationalist entities and certain political parties”. New prohibition by the JEC.

In the most recent elections, the municipal and regional elections of May 28, 2023, the JEC indicated to the representatives and auditors of the Vox party who could not include the flag of the Spanish state in their accreditations. This as a result of the complaints presented by the alliance Cambiar Huesca – IUin Huesca (Aragon).

On that occasion, however, the reference is not to article 93 but to section 5 of article 46 of the LOREG, which establishes that “applications may not be presented with symbols that reproduce the flag or coat of arms of Spain, or with denominations or symbols that refer to the crown”.

Symbols yes, symbols no

Beyond the acronyms and logos of the political parties, there are other symbols for which the JEC has also come to deliberate. In 2017, the Sant Feliu de Llobregat Zone Electoral Board (Barcelona) inquired about the possibility of carrying “T-shirts or clothing containing stellar flag printing”. the JEC He prohibited it for both proxies and voters.I also know ordered the removal of flags from public buildings during said election campaign.

In March 2015, during the regional elections in Andalusia, three people were arrested in Torre del Mar, Málaga province, for arriving at the polling stations wearing shirts with that motto of the Platform for People Affected by the Mortgage“STOP Evictions”

Months later, in November, a court in Vélez-Málaga determined that this was not an electoral crime, that did not contradict the LOREG.

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This article is part of the content disseminated by checked.isan alliance of fact-checkers and media to fight misinformation about the July 23 general elections.