You can't wear political clothing when voting, which is why this woman voted in a bra

It seemed like a simple request.

Poll workers asked a voter in Hamilton Township to take off her MAGA hat and cover her shirt to show her support for former President Donald Trump.

The woman angrily took off her hat and shirt and twisted them like a lasso. She then went to vote in her bra after hurling vulgar profanities at workers in front of a crowd of up to 100 voters, several people told NJ Advance Media.

In Gloucester Township, a voter marched into the polling station wearing a red cape and white bonnet, inspired by The Handmaid's Tale, the dystopian book and television series about a patriarchal society in which women are forced into sexual slavery to bear children for their masters .

She complied with the request to remove her cape and hood before voting and then quietly walked out, putting her outfit back on.

Early voting began in New Jersey last Saturday, and turnout has been high so far. Poll workers across the state have not only had to contend with long lines but have also sometimes faced belligerent people who insist on showing their candidate preferences at the polls. Many may not realize that wearing political messages is not allowed while voting, election officials said, but some simply don't seem to care.

In fact, “campaigning” is illegal in the Garden State.

Within the polling place or room, or within 100 feet of the exterior entrance of such polling place or room, people are not permitted to “distribute or display any circular or printed material or to make suggestions or support for any candidate, party or.” to ask a public question.” or within 100 feet of a ballot box used in the conduct of an election.”

This includes, for example, wearing T-shirts, hats or buttons that support a candidate or can be interpreted as an attempt to influence a voter's opinion, election officials said. Bumper stickers and flags on vehicles within 100 feet of polling places are also prohibited.

When the “maid” voter arrived at the Gloucester Township polling station for early voting on Saturday, poll workers initially thought she was wearing a Little Red Riding Hood costume, perhaps for a Halloween party.

She wore a flowing red cloak with a white bonnet.

Then workers saw the blood-red handprints on the hood.

“When the board clerk asked, she said it was Handmaid's Tale,” said Sarah Napper, one of Camden County's election administrators, who said the costume was a political statement. “We asked them to remove it. She did, but she proudly put it back on when she walked out of here.”

The woman who ultimately voted in a bra in Mercer County reacted offended when asked to remove a MAGA hat and T-shirt.

It happened at the Colonial Fire House in Hamilton Township, where voters waited in a long line for their turn to cast their ballots, said Jill Moyer, chairwoman of the Mercer County Board of Elections.

“I asked her to take off her hat and said if you want to get a jacket out of your car, I will hold your place in line or you could go to the bathroom to turn the shirt around,” Moyer said of the encounter on Saturday . “Before I could get everything out, she took off her shirt and threw it around.”

The woman began swearing at the poll workers and calling them “nasty” names, Moyer said.

Moyer said she went to call police, but the woman quickly coordinated and left the building.

But before the voter left, a witness told NJ Advance Media, they took a photo of the woman voting in her bra.

The witness said before the voter left, she put her shirt back on, this time inside out, and she also put on her hat, but not before delivering another message to poll workers. “She gave me the finger and said, 'Suck my ass,'” a witness said.

“I felt so sorry for (the poll workers). They’re just trying to do their job and people say such terrible stuff,” the witness said.

But that wasn't the end of it. The photo went viral on social media and caught the attention of vice presidential candidate JD Vance. He retweeted the photo and called the voter a “patriot.” Vance later removed the post.

It's not just about clothes. At the Galaxy Mall in Guttenberg in Hudson County on Saturday, Ben Applegate stood in line with several dozen people, all waiting for their turn to vote. He said he heard someone clapping for the crowd, as if they were happy that so many people came to vote. It was a man leaning over the second floor railing, he said.

“Then he yelled 'Go Trump,' and a man in a MAGA hat in line behind us said, 'Fuck it, I'm not scared,' and also started yelling 'Trump,'” Applegate said. “I told him it was a polling place and that they couldn’t do that here and told him to shut up.”

The man who was upstairs came down, walked through the line, and shouted, “Trump! “Where were you all in 2020?” Applegate said. “The poll workers were mostly older women and I felt so sorry for them. They consulted with each other about what to do.”

Maryanne Kelleher, Hudson County elections director and registration officer, said the man was “quickly chased away by onlookers.”

“We were informed that Saturday’s incident was a transient event that ended quickly and spread further than 30 meters from the entrance to the polling station,” she said.

Election officials across the state noted several dozen reports of campaign actions, most of which involved people being asked to remove their hats or cover T-shirts, and most complied with the request without incident. But if voters don't cooperate, election workers call the police for assistance.

It happened Saturday at the Lower Township Library polling place in Villas, Cape May County, when a voter became defiant.

“One gentleman had a Trump hat on. He was asked to remove it, but he refused,” said Michael Kennedy, registrar and department head of the county board of elections. “One of the poll workers called the police. He told them he had been harassed by one of the other voters.”

The man took off his hat when police asked him to, Kennedy said. At least he temporarily removed it.

“Just before he went to vote, I was told that he put the hat on after the police left,” he said.

With Halloween coming up on Thursday, some election officials are expecting even more mischief.

“We wait for Halloween when someone comes dressed to see a candidate,” said Beth Thompson, administrator of the Hunterdon County Board of Elections.

Back in Camden County, at the site of the Handmaid's Tale incident, Napper, a Republican, said there are times when voters test the limits of campaign rules and accuse poll workers of partisanship.

“If you're talking to a voter and the first thing they say is, 'Oh, you must be a certain party,' then I'll introduce you to my counterpart,” she said, nodding to Nellie McFadden, who serves as the county's Democrat elections administrator .

“They’re testing us,” McFadden said.

They told the story of another voter who came to vote wearing a T-shirt that said “Make Halloween Great Again.” It included an image of someone wearing a hockey mask like the one made famous by the Mike Meyers character in the Halloween film series.

“It also had Trump hair, so push it there,” Napper said.

“The voter said she was being discriminated against when she was asked to cover it up. She said it was a Halloween shirt, but it was also a political statement,” Napper said.

“We do get resistance, but we try to explain to them that we just want everything to go smoothly,” McFadden said. “We want everyone to vote and be fair and kind to each other. We want this to be an enjoyable experience for everyone.”