Are New Yorkers allowed to take a picture of their ballot?
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) -- You ask, we answer!
Question: Can I take a picture of my ballot?
In the State of New York, it depends on what the ballot shows. According to the New York State's Board of Elections, taking a picture of a blank ballot is allowed.
"Taking a photo at the polling place or with a blank ballot is permitted, however, voters should not be disruptive to poll workers or other voters," A spokesperson with the New York State Board of Elections said in an email.
Here in New York, it's illegal to take a picture of a completed ballot, showing who you voted for.
The NYS Board of Elections sent the following information on the topic:
New York State Election Law (17-130(10)) forbids a voter from taking a photo of or with their completed ballot. The purpose of this law, instituted long before cell phones/personal cameras were the norm, was to prevent voter coercion/intimidation or vote buying (i.e., showing a completed ballot to prove an individual voted in a certain way to another individual).
The language includes, “Any person who… shows his ballot after it is prepared for voting, to any person so as to reveal the contents, or solicits a voter to show the same… is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
At least 14 states have made it illegal to take a ballot selfie, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
Many New York lawmakers have been trying to change the current ballot photo law.
Senate Bill S661 was introduced in the 2023-2024 Legislative Session. The Summary reads, "Allows voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media."
The bill failed to make it out of committee.
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