Ballot Selfies Score Modest Win

[XLFD]

When you went to the polls this last Tuesday, there was still an unanswered question lingering in the court system that may have changed the way you acted when you cast your vote for the local bond proposal.  Say that you wanted to proudly show your friends that you voted "yes" or "no" on the one ballot question, so you darkened the oval, and took a ballot 'selfie' with your phone.  Harmless?  Well our local election officials may not have seen it that way because state election law makes that a crime worthy of taking away your right to vote.

 

A settlement agreement made in April, but not submitted to the court and released publicly until May 8 (in order to prevent confusion during the May 7 election), dealt with a case originating from an incident that happened in the November election of 2012.  At that time, Kalamazoo resident Joel Crookston took a picture of his ballot from the MSU Trustee portion of his ballot, showing that he wrote in his friend's name. 

Although officials didn’t pursue charges against Crookston for doing so, an attorney named Stephen Klein reached out to him about the state’s prohibition and asked him if he’d like to file a lawsuit against the prohibition claiming it is a violation of the First Amendment protection of free speech and expression.  So Crookston filed Crookston v Johnson in federal court in order to vindicate his right to take pictures of his ballot in the 2016 election.

The basis behind the illegality of that act is that MCL 168.738(2) strictly forbids a voter from showing their completed ballot to anybody other than somebody needed to assist you with voting.  If they do, the ballot can be submitted, but will be marked as 'rejected for exposure'.  The law continues in saying that once this has happened, you can no longer vote in that election.  The prior Secretary of State (Ruth Johnson, and others previous) have issued directives severely limiting any recording equipment at polling places.

The Michigan ban was "justified by the state’s long-standing interest in protecting the secrecy of the ballot and protecting those who seek to exercise their right to vote from distraction, harassment or intimidation,” then-Attorney General Bill Schuette's office wrote in a 2016 court filing for Ruth Johnson, the defendant.

When the court approves the settlement, it would still limit ballot photography to the voting booth, not other areas of a polling location.  And voters could only take pictures of their ballots, not selfies of themselves, or themselves with their ballot.  The deal will not affect other prohibitions on photography in a voting location or sharing ballot images within 100 feet of the polling place, a buffer zone where electioneering is not allowed.

A different Johnson, State Representative Steve Johnson R-Wayland, has introduced and re-introduced legislation this year that may settle the issue for future incidences.  “Around the country, people increasingly are sharing pictures of their ballot as a way to show support for candidates and issues,” Johnson said.  “It is our responsibility to preserve and protect this form of free speech in Michigan.”

In 2016, a similar lawsuit was fought in New Hampshire, but rather than settling, a federal appeals court ruled that the prohibition violated the U.S. Constitution based on the free speech argument. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear cases regarding ballot selfies up to this point.  One would have to believe that they would likely find such laws unconstitutional if the person taking pictures was not adversely affecting other voters with their behavior.

[Willy]

I checked on the internet looking for a reason this is so controversial and I could find nothing that would make taking a selfie of a ballot a problem. Nothing is being revealed that is not known before election day so, preventing someone from showing a copy of thier ballot makes no sense unless there are shenanigans going on in local elections by local officials. It seems to me that this is a good way to verify that all ballots are the same and show the complete information necessary for voters to make a decision. Taking a picture of someone else s ballot should be illegal but if you want yours floating out there on the internet it should be your decision but I would think twice about that, seeing as how some employers can be vindictive in regards to their workers politics.