Justin Timberlake’s ballot selfie highlights mixed laws
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
Now even Justin Timberlake has been forced to deal with the question of whether a ballot selfie is legal.
Timberlake flew from California to Tennessee to vote early this week, but his posting of an image of himself at the voting booth on Instagram on Monday drew questions about whether he was breaking the law. A Tennessee law that took effect earlier this year bars voters from taking photographs or video while they’re inside a polling location.
While secrecy in the voting booth has become a thing of the past for those ready to share their views and daily lives on social media, laws nationwide are mixed on whether voters are allowed to take pictures of themselves voting and their ballots.
Federal courts have struck down bans in New Hampshire and Indiana, and on Monday, a judge in Michigan blocked enforcement of a ban on ballot selfies, saying it violates free speech.
Tennessee Secretary of State spokesman Adam Ghassemi said officials are “thrilled Justin can’t stop the feeling” but reminded voters to use their phones inside polling locations only to help them vote.
Timberlake lives in California, but grew up in the Memphis area and owns property near Nashville.
No law bans ballot selfies, according to Patrick Gallahue, a spokesman for Secretary of State Denise Merrill. But election moderators have discretion to prohibit activity “that threatens the orderly process of voting or the privacy of another voter’s ballot.” There’s no ban. Election officials discourage people from taking pictures but won’t do anything to stop them, said Tamara Robinson, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Board of Elections.
A law passed this year allows voters to share a digital image of one’s own marked ballot.
There’s no law banning them, the secretary of state’s office said.
A federal judge last year barred the state from enforcing a new law prohibiting ballot selfies.
Secretary of State spokesman Bradford Queen says state law does not allow people to record the likeness of a voter, but the law does not say whether voters can record their own likeness. Therefore, the secretary of state’s office routinely tells county clerks the law does not prohibit ballot selfies.
Secretary of State Tom Schedler says ballot selfies are allowed in the state, though he’s not a fan of them.
The secretary of state discourages ballot selfies because there’s a ban on making unauthorized ballot copies, but there’s no law against voters posting photos of their marked ballot.
A federal judge on Monday blocked enforcement of a ban on ballot selfies, saying it violates free speech. Lawyers for Secretary of State Ruth Johnson predicted “chaos” at polling places and asked the judge to consider freezing her order while they pursue an appeal in a higher court.
Allowed as long as they’re not shown to fellow voters at the polling place or capture another person in the photo.
Law does not specifically prohibit the use of cameras at polling places, but election administrators and judges have broad authority to limit disruptive activity, according to Emily Dean, spokeswoman for the secretary of state. Sharing photos of absentee ballots is also not banned.
Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a bill in April that allows someone to show their marked ballots to others without risking a $100 fine.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston last month upheld a decision that a ban was unconstitutional, saying it suppresses a large swath of political speech and there was no evidence to support the state’s concerns.
Photos inside polling places are allowed.
All voting is done through mail-in ballots, which voters are free to photograph. A state law prohibiting showing a marked ballot to another person was repealed in 2014, according to Molly Woon, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins.
The Board of Elections adopted new rules in time for November’s election that allow for selfie-taking inside polling places. The updated regulations allow voters to take photos as long as they don’t show another person’s ballot. — AP