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A Selfie of Your Election Ballot? Not in New York State

freeimages.com/Kristen Price

As voters cast their ballots in this age of social media, capturing that experience with a selfie isn't as simple as you might think.

A century-old New York law makes it a misdemeanor to show a marked election ballot to others.  That includes taking a picture  of your completed ballot. 

"It's just ridiculous that people can't do that. We have a First Amendment," said Brooklyn-based civil rights lawyer Leo Glickman, who is representing the plaintiffs in the case.

"These are three voters who are politically active, politically opinionated and who would want to take a photograph of their ballot and show who they voted for because they feel it's a strong way to express their opinion about who to vote for."

Glickman believes the law was originally established to prevent the coercion of voters.

"So for example, taking a photograph of a ballot or otherwise showing your ballot to say, your boss, who escorts you or other employees to the voting booth in order to persuade, shall we say, you to vote a certain way."

That reasoning was recently rejected by three federal courts where similar statues in other states were ruled unconstitutional.

Violators of the New York law can be punished with up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

"I don't believe it's being enforced,” said Glickman, “but I do know it chills people's free speech and expression because people are afraid of the law."

The New York attorney general's office declined comment.  A hearing is set for Tuesday in a federal court in Manhattan.

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.