KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Committee to Keep the Chiefs and Royals in Jackson County has issued a statement Tuesday afternoon claiming that voters are being turned away at the polls for wearing team gear.
Kansas City, Missouri, Election Board Director Shawn Kieffer told KSHB 41 early Tuesday afternoon that he had received four reports from voters asked to remove Chiefs or Royals gear or not be able to vote. Keiffer said to his knowledge that workers fixed the situation and reminded poll workers of the rules. He said that all voters were able to vote.
Tammy Brown, the Republican Executive Director for the Jackson County Election Board, said they have received no calls from voters as of 1 p.m. She said a judge did call and asked if a voter could appear wearing a Chiefs hat, which was allowed as long as it doesn't advocate for a specific side of the vote.
Last week, KSHB 41 confirmed with the Jackson County Election Board and the Kansas City Election Board that although poll workers are prohibited from wearing Chiefs or Royals gear, voters themselves were able to wear gear, as long as it didn’t specifically reference Question 1 in any way.
“We are in the process of training our poll workers and have told them not to wear team apparel, but the voters may wear their Chiefs and Royals but with no reference to the question,” the JCEB told KSHB 41.
The committee working on behalf of the yes vote said they were “disturbed and disappointed” to hear of voters being turned away.
“This is a clear violation of both Kansas City and Jackson County voter laws,” the committee said in a statement. “While poll workers are prohibited from wearing Chiefs and Royals licensed gear, voters are within their rights to wear team logos when they go to the polls.”
KSHB 41's Sean Hirshberg and Tod Palmer contributed reporting to this story.
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