Court: New Hampshire law banning ballot selfies is unconstitutional
New Hampshire voters, feel free to snap away inside the voting booth this November.
On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in Boston ruled New Hampshire's ban on selfies in the voting booth is unconstitutional. In 2014, the Granite State made it illegal for residents to take photos of their ballots and share them on social media, with a fine of up to $1,000. The state has argued that the the law is designed to discourage vote-buying and intimidation, NBC News reports, but last year, a federal judge blocked its enforcement.
The appeallate court found that while New Hampshire does have a point, the ban is directed at an "unsubstantiated and hypothetical danger" and suppresses political speech. "It's like burning down the house to roast the pig," the court stated. This is the first time a federal appeals court has heard the issue, but it likely won't be the last — there are still 26 other states that have various laws banning photography at the ballot box.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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