3 groups file suit over Va. law against political clothes at polls

Three Virginia organizations today filed a lawsuit in federal court in Richmond seeking to overturn the Election Day ban on political attire and campaign paraphernalia at the polls.

The ACLU of Virginia, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Enterprise and the Rutherford Institute said the policy of the State Board of Elections violates free speech rights in the U.S. Constitution.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court.

A bill has been submitted in advance of the 2009 General Assembly session to strike down the ban.

-- Tyler Whitley