Sacramento, California. (KTXL) – You fill out your ballot and want to show you’ve done your civic duty, but are you allowed to? Taking a picture of you and your ballot Are you posting on social media?
In the United States, there are more states than states that ban so-called ‘ballot selfies’.
The practice has gained traction over the past two decades as smartphones become more widespread and people share more of their personal lives online, including their voting preferences.
According to Ballotpedia, an organization that documents elections, politics and policies in the country, 25 states will allow ballot selfies by 2020, while 15 will not. The remaining ten states do not have clear laws in this regard.
California is among the states that allow them, with former Gov. Jerry Brown signing a law in 2016 that says “a voter may voluntarily disclose how he voted if that voluntary action does not violate any other law.”
law, AB 1494It came into effect in 2017.
Why are ballot selfies illegal?
Some states that prohibit photos of filled ballots do so for a number of reasons, including protecting against election fraud and avoiding election delays.
Other states have laws created to protect employees from union ballot-observing bosses, and the laws overlap with election ballots.
Some states, like Colorado, allow ballot selfies, just not at the polling place, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of State said. The New York Times.
With the proliferation of mail-in ballots during the pandemic, millions of people cast their votes at home, where taking a selfie needn’t prevent anyone else from casting their own vote.
In California, you cannot disclose the contents of a ballot in an effort to limit voting interference.
Starting in 2018, Californians can legally take a photo of their ballot and publish it anywhere they like as long as it doesn’t violate any other law, such as vote-selling.
