A trio of New Yorkers are suing the Board of Elections in hopes of making it perfectly legal to snap a selfie in a voting booth — which is a big no-no in the Empire State and elsewhere around the country. The suit, filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, argues that “ballot selfies” — or the act of taking a photo with a ballot and then publishing it on social media — should be allowed on election day because they are a valid expression of one’s first amendment rights. “What they want to be able to do is show the photographs to their Facebook friends and Twitter followers,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Leo Glickman, told The Post.
“It’s a matter of political speech,” he said. “People want to express themselves and their opinions, but unfortunately there’s a state law that criminalizes that conduct and we hope to overturn the law as a breach of first amendment rights.”
Since 1909, it’s been illegal to take pictures of a marked ballot while voting in New York and at least 15 other states. Those who are caught doing so could face up to a year behind bars and a $1,000 fine.
Full Article: New Yorkers sue for the right to take ‘ballot selfies’ | New York Post.