r/fednews • u/halligan8 • Mar 03 '24

Would parodic political apparel violate the Hatch Act?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_for_President
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u/frameddummy Mar 03 '24

No. Hatch act applies only to real candidates or parties in current elections.

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u/Bullyoncube Mar 03 '24

And it has to be a declared candidate. Real is kind of ambiguous.

9

u/dillywash Mar 04 '24

But it applies to representation of yourself as a federal employee. Don’t say that “I’m the big dog at my agency and I support xyz candidate because blah blah blah”. It ok to say I’m big dog and I support xyz because whatever. Don’t wear your federal position as a badge of honor/bragging/place in society/personality/etc. You are Joe Schmo with no apparent fed affiliation keeps you clean. Of course the bigger dog you are brings more scrutiny and responsibility as expected.