Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Three politicians photographed ballots — and didn’t know it’s against state law
A Broward County commissioner, a state representative and a local mayor may have broken the law this week — all for the sake of a photo opp.
On July 25, Broward County Mayor Beam Furr, who is running for reelection, posted a photo on Facebook of what appeared to be Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy’s mail-in primary election ballot with his vote for Furr.
“Happy to get my first vote this campaign from Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy,” Furr wrote. “Thank you, Josh, for being an overachiever and getting things done quickly!!”
Levy commented on the post: “You represent us well Mr. County Commissioner. Proud to cast my vote for you! #TeamBeam.”
A day later, Florida State Rep. Kristin Jacobs, D-Coconut Creek, tweeted a photo of a ballot with her name bubbled in.
The actions of the three would violate a
Florida statute that bars voters from taking photos of ballots, said Robert Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University. But the law, aimed at preventing voter intimidation, is rarely enforced, experts say.
The Broward State Attorney’s Office has never prosecuted such a case, said state attorney’s spokeswoman Constance Simms. Simms declined to comment on the ballot photos.
Jacobs, Levy and Furr all said they didn’t realize they were doing anything wrong.
“I was simply excited to express my support of a person I know to be a worthy candidate,” Levy said. “To the extent that may not have been permissible, it was certainly not my intent.”
Jacobs — who deleted her tweet after the South Florida Sun Sentinel contacted her — also chalked her post up to excitement.
“I am mortified! I was unaware that it was a violation,” Jacobs said in an email. “But please know that this was not my actual ballot because I plan to vote in person on Election Day, August 28.”
Jacobs said she posted the ballot photo to “share the joy of voting” and to “encourage others to vote.”
After the Sun Sentinel reached out to Furr, he replaced the photo on Facebook with one of him standing next to Mayor Levy instead of the filledout ballot. The caption remained the same.
“I actually did know you couldn’t take photos in the polling place, but I really didn’t know that you couldn’t take a picture of your own absentee ballot,” Furr said. “I’ve seen so many online. I think about half the country allows it and half doesn’t. And I understand it not being allowed in the polling place and I get it.”
Furr compared the Facebook post with Levy’s photo to someone wearing a candidate’s shirt or putting a sign on their lawn.
“Social media is allowing for a lot of discussion and I imagine we’ll see a lot of this,” he said. “I doubt there’s going to be a rush for prosecution.”
This isn’t the first time a public figure was caught photographing a ballot. In 2016, pop artist Justin Timberlake caught flack for posting a selfie while casting his ballot in his hometown, Memphis, Tenn. Timberlake wasn’t charged.
Florida is among 18 states that prohibit sharing of ballot photos and one of six that also bars mail-in ballot photos, according to an Associated Press report.