Ballot selfies
Texas ban infringes on freedom of speech.
Voters lined up by the thousands on the first day of early voting in Harris County, but the folks waiting to cast their ballots didn’t hear applause for their civic duty or last-minute pitches from down-ballot candidates. Instead, they probably heard an election volunteer warning them to turn off their cell phones.
In case you didn’t know, it is against Texas law to use a phone or other wireless communications device within 100 feet of a voting station.
What’s next? Taking off your shoes and TSAstyle pat downs?
The “no cellphones” rule was passed in 2007 to bolster pre-existing restrictions on using photographic and recording equipment in polling places.
So if you want to take a ballot selfie, or double-check www. houstonchronicle.com/ opinion/endorsements to make sure you’ve voting for qualified district judges and constable candidates, be prepared to get booted out the door.
About 40 percent of people get their news online. Social media is playing a growing role in citizen activism. It is time for Texas law to reflect this reality and allow people to use their cell phones while voting.
Yes, there should be some restrictions on how people use recording devices at polling stations. We don’t want bad actors trying to sneak peeks at other people’s ballots or standing outside with cameras trying to intimidate voters. But Texas laws cast a wide net that entangles troublemakers and honest voters alike.
In fact, the American Civil Liberties Union is challenging similar voting laws across the nation, arguing that these cell phone bans infringe on freedom of speech.
The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed the ACLU a major victory last month and struck down a New Hampshire law that prohibited voters from sharing photos of their completed ballots.
“Digital photography, the internet, and social media are not unknown quantities — they have been ubiquitous for several election cycles, without being shown to have the effect of furthering vote-buying or voter intimidation,” the court wrote.
Some might scoff at posting pictures direct from the voting booth — as if democracy were on par with an Instagram of overpriced eggs benedict. But promoting the act of voting and one’s political preference is a powerful form of speech that deserves full protection under the law.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to “Make America Great Again” with a Facebook post or using Snapchat to tell your fam that “I’m With Her.” The Legislature needs to bring our laws up to date with the reality of voting.