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Is it illegal to take a ballot selfie in your state?

Don't end up like Eric Trump...

 

David Gilmour

Tech

Posted on Nov 8, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 3:24 pm CDT

Eric Trump, son of the Republican nominee, appears to have broken the law in the state of New York this morning by taking this ballot selfie:

The Republican nominee’s son quickly realized his mistake and promptly deleted the tweet, but it underlines what might become a bit of a problem this Election Day.

While a ballot selfie might may seem like the perfect way to celebrate your participation in the democratic process, doing so could land you a serious fine or even get you arrested in many states across the U.S.

The rules vary from state to state. For example, a Michigan court ruling made the practice illegal there, but a New Hampshire judge described selfies as protected speech under the First Amendment. Some parts of the country have clear legal positions on selfies in the polling booth. Just 20 states hold ballot selfies to be legal with 18 states designating them as illegal. However, for the other 38 percent of the population, the law is undecided and remains a little murky.

So, while the country figures out a collective stance on what exactly a selfie is, we’ve constructed this map to help keep you on the right side of the law, wherever you are:

 

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*First Published: Nov 8, 2016, 1:48 pm CST