MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — An elections official says a poll worker in Memphis, Tennessee, has been fired after turning away early voters who were wearing “Black Lives Matter” and “I Can’t Breathe” shirts.
Shelby County Election Commission spokeswoman Suzanne Thompson says the worker was fired Friday after officials received a call from a witness at the Dave Wells Community Center in Memphis.
Tennessee law does not allow voters to wear items with the name of a candidate or a political party on them in a polling place. But state law does not bar statements such as “Black Lives Matter.”
Thompson said the poll worker thought the statements were tied to the Democratic Party.
