In 2016 the Associated Press compiled a summary of laws in every state on whether it is legal to take a selfie while voting.
Be sure to check it out before you take our your phone at the polling booth tomorrow:
https://www.apnews.com/04c313da0672422ba28bb57c4e4a7ca0
(Note that laws may have changed. And this isn't legal advice.)
Showing posts with label Elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elections. Show all posts
Nov 5, 2018
Feb 14, 2018
First Amendment February at the U.S. Supreme Court
My latest South Carolina Press Association column:
February
may be the shortest month, but it is full of arguments in major First
Amendment cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. And while none of the cases
directly involve the media, whenever the High Court considers a free
speech case there is the possibility of major impact on First Amendment
law generally.
Oct 26, 2009
As Politicians Adopt Social Media, They Bump Into the Law
(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
As social media become more popular, it is inevitable that enterprising politicians will use it promote themselves, connect with constituents, and garner votes. The White House has a blog, several Senators and House members tweet, and elected officials and candidates at all levels of government are using social media to get out their messages.
But just as use of social media by voters is coming into conflict with existing election laws, some politicians are discovering that their use of social media may clash — or at least create possible problems — with existing campaign and government disclosure laws.
As social media become more popular, it is inevitable that enterprising politicians will use it promote themselves, connect with constituents, and garner votes. The White House has a blog, several Senators and House members tweet, and elected officials and candidates at all levels of government are using social media to get out their messages.
But just as use of social media by voters is coming into conflict with existing election laws, some politicians are discovering that their use of social media may clash — or at least create possible problems — with existing campaign and government disclosure laws.
Apr 27, 2009
Blogger Threatened Over Ballot Photo As 19th Century Laws Meet 21st Century Technology, Sensibility
(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
As noted in the Documenting Your Vote section of CMLP's Legal Guide, several states have laws prohibiting voters from displaying their ballots to someone else.
In Missouri, an anonymous blogger who sponsored a fake campaign for St. Louis Blues hockey player T.J. Oshie to become mayor of O'Fallon, Missouri posted a picture of a ballot with Oshie's name written in. (Although the blog remains, the photo -- available here -- has been removed.) This is an apparent violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.637 (14), which prohibits a voter from "allowing his ballot to be seen by any person with the intent of letting it be known how he is about to vote or has voted." Violation is a a class-four election offense, punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and/or up to a year in jail.
What the blogger probably saw as a harmless prank was taken seriously by St. Charles County elections director Rich A. Chrismer, who told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the blogger "violated the law, and I'm going to prosecute." "They may have thought the photo was cute," he continued, "but it was very serious."
Why all the fuss?
As noted in the Documenting Your Vote section of CMLP's Legal Guide, several states have laws prohibiting voters from displaying their ballots to someone else.
In Missouri, an anonymous blogger who sponsored a fake campaign for St. Louis Blues hockey player T.J. Oshie to become mayor of O'Fallon, Missouri posted a picture of a ballot with Oshie's name written in. (Although the blog remains, the photo -- available here -- has been removed.) This is an apparent violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.637 (14), which prohibits a voter from "allowing his ballot to be seen by any person with the intent of letting it be known how he is about to vote or has voted." Violation is a a class-four election offense, punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and/or up to a year in jail.
What the blogger probably saw as a harmless prank was taken seriously by St. Charles County elections director Rich A. Chrismer, who told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the blogger "violated the law, and I'm going to prosecute." "They may have thought the photo was cute," he continued, "but it was very serious."
Why all the fuss?
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