A fight broke out at an early voting location in South Carolina when a supporter of the former president Donald Trump refused to take off their “Make America Great Again” hats.

The incident saw the Trump supporter scuffle with poll workers who asked him to remove his hat in Orangeburg County, in compliance with state rules restricting the depiction of campaign promotions at polling places .

In excerpts from the altercation that quickly unfolded viral on social media, the disgruntled voter can be heard calling a poll worker who explained the rule a “f****** b****”, before waving at his cap and saying: ” It’s my b******* it’s true, here.”

The voter then took off his cap and threw it out of the voting area, before hitting one of the poll workers in the head, prompting him to slap him in return.

The conflict escalated when the voter began following the worker around the room, while other staff intervened to separate the two people. The voter was then escorted out of the building.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said it was investigating the incident. News week has contacted Orangeburg County officials for an update on the situation.

According to South Carolina state regulations, voters are not allowed to wear anything that displays a political party, candidate name or voting issue.

The law reads: “The returning officer shall use all reasonable means to keep the area within five hundred feet of any such entrance free from political publications and exhibitions, and the officers responsible for the County and municipal law enforcement, upon request of a returning officer, shall remove or cause to be removed any material within five hundred feet of such entrance distributed or displayed in violation of this section.

Early voting in the state began on October 21 and will continue for two more days until November 2. After that, South Carolinians will only be able to vote on Election Day itself.

Nearly 60 million Americans voted early in the 2024 election. More than 25.2 million people voted in person, while 23.4 million people returned their absentee ballots. More than 66.4 million mail-in ballots have been requested nationwide.

Early voting is available in all but two states; Alabama and Mississippi. In these southern states, voters need an approved reason to register to vote by mail.

Due to the pandemic, 70% of voters used alternatives to in-person voting in the 2020 election.

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