A few years ago, our CO (white) also mentioned this during one of his parts. He said that individuals were "disciplined" and that some elders and MS were removed as a result. He also said that there were several that went to the inauguration ceremony. He said that when he confronted some of those elders, they responded that it was "a black thing, you wouldn't understand". His response was "no, its a netruality thing, you don't understand". I was surprised that some admitted to voting, otherwise I'm not sure how you'd get caught.
I really don't understand why a JW couldn't go watch the inauguration. I mean, I watch most of them on TV. I think that's one of the things that makes the US a great place to live. In some countries, the transfer of power isn't nearly as smooth and I've always thought it was great to see the outgoing president shake the incoming presidents hand and step back.