In today’s age of social media, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the ‘ballot selfie,’ that is taking a selfie with your ballot to signify your completion of your civic duty, is a popular phenomenon. While it is a popular trend, it’s not necessarily a legal one. In 18 states the ballot selfie is illegal, and in many others there are some laws restricting it’s practice.
The following states have outlawed ballot selfies: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
While it may seem absurd that ballot selfies are illegal, there is actually a good reason behind it. The ruling against the ballot selfie has nothing to do with social media; the restrictions are meant to prevent vote buying. Vote buying is an illegal practice that involves paying a someone to vote in favor of a certain candidate, and the method most often used in vote buying schemes to prove that they voted in accordance to their agreement is the ballot selfie. By taking a picture of themselves with their ballot they are able to let the person paying them know that they voted ‘properly’. It is for this reason that ballot selfies are illegal in several states.
The enforceability of this law is obviously hard to cary out, and many innocent people would be fined if it was successfully followed through. That being said, it is best to follow the rules and leave your camera out of the polls; a fact that Justin Timberlake learned the hard way. Timberlake posted a ballot selfie to his Instagram a few weeks ago to promote voting among the millennial population, but it was flagged left him ‘under review’. Shortly after the selfie was flagged Timberlake deleted his selfie, but it’s put him in a tricky situation for not obeying the law.
So please, tell everyone you voted; Tweet it, Facebook it, Blog it, whatever you want, just do not post a picture of your ballot on social media.
For more information on the Timberlake incident and other inappropriate polling behaviors, visit: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/25/entertainment/justin-timberlake-voting-selfie/