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Friday, March 29

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As it turns out, snapping a quick photo of your ballot is illegal in many states, including Illinois.

OK:
My smug #ivoted mug.

Not OK:
Ballot

UPDATE: Actually, the rules are a little fuzzy. As Gizmodo points out, there's nothing in Illinois law explicitly forbidding photographing your own ballot. However, it is illegal to photograph other citizens voting. Here's "10 ILCS 5/29-9," the section of election code that might be at issue:

Sec. 29-9. Unlawful observation of voting. Except as permitted by this Code, any person who knowingly marks his ballot or casts his vote on a voting machine or voting device so that it can be observed by another person, and any person who knowingly observes another person lawfully marking a ballot or lawfully casting his vote on a voting machine or voting device, shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.

Crain's Chicago Business got hold of Steve Sandvoss, an election specialist with the Illinois State Board of Elections, who said that section 5/29-9 "could be interpreted to prohibit a voter from photographing his or her ballot and then posting the photograph. Whether or not facts exists establishing such a violation would be up to a prosecutor's office."

Mr. Sandvoss also noted that "there is no per se prohibition on bringing a cellphone or camera into the polling place." But, "if the election judges determine that using either one is disruptive of the voting process, or is otherwise a violation of one or more election laws, they are empowered in my opinion to instruct the person to refrain from using it."

So there you have it. Possibly illegal, definitely not something to make a big deal out of doing while you're in the polling place. And don't even think about photographing someone else's ballot.

UPDATE 2: Ken Menzel, deputy general counsel for the Illinois State Board of Elections, was much less ambiguous when he discussed the issue with the Tribune. Illinois election code prohibits voting in a way that can be observed by others, and posting photos of completed ballots on social media obviously violates that code. The law was meant to discourage vote-buying ("Having a picture of the ballot is an important cog in vote-buying schemes. The buyers want to know they got what they paid for," Menzel told the Tribune) and makes it a Class 4 felony with a one- to three-year prison sentence and a maximum $25,000 fine.

 
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