Today's lesson in election law

posted Nov 6, 2012 at 2:40 PM

Good to know: taking a photo of your marked ballot and posting it on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/wherever online could be considered a misdemeanor in New York State, Gizmodo reports. Update: A spokesman from the NYS Board of Elections tells the Syracuse Post-Standard that lawyers for the BOE have decided that showing someone your ballot in person is illegal -- but posting a photo online is not. (Thanks, Ned!)

4 comments

Comments

If you read the law carefully it's saying if you reveal your vote between the time you mark your ballot and the time it's actually cast is when a law is broken. If you take a picture, cast your ballot, THEN share it afterwards you should be good.... but I'm no lawyer.

I also find it difficult to believe this law is going to be enforced.

... said Chad9976 on Nov 6, 2012 at 3:09 PM | link

I'm not concerned.

... said Jeremy on Nov 6, 2012 at 3:26 PM | link

Late to the party with this, but BoE says "No, it is not."

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/posting_photos_of_your_ballot.html

... said Ned on Nov 7, 2012 at 4:29 PM | link

@Ned: Thanks for the follow up!

@Chad, Jeremy: Yep, it seemed highly unlikely someone would actually get in trouble for this. But it's interesting from an old-law-in-an-everyone's-a-publisher-world perspective.

... said Greg on Nov 7, 2012 at 4:49 PM | link

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