Update, 4:15 pm: Conflicting media reports Tuesday afternoon caused a flurry of Internet conversations as to whether photographing a ballot in New York State is illegal, as it is in other states.
When reached by phone, Deputy Director of Public Information for the Board of Elections Tom Connolly told Patch that at this time the board’s lawyers have deemed “there is nothing in the law that prohibits you from photographing your ballot.”
Connolly stated that while sharing the contents of your ballot with another individual is illegal, sharing an image of a ballot is not—because that ballot may be altered after the photograph is taken.
“Just because there is a photo of your ballot or a portion of your ballot online doesn’t mean it is the ballot you cast,” he said. “You could crumple it up and cast a new one instead afterward.”
Tweet away, readers.
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As pictures of long lines, "I VOTED" stickers and thumbs up pervade the Internet on Election Day in Brooklyn, there is one image voters should not be sharing over social media—photos of completed ballots.
According to NY State law 17-130, it's illegal for anyone to show "his ballot after it is prepared for voting, to any person so as to reveal the contents."
That includes "by photographing or filming one's own vote at the time of voting and afterwards displaying the image on a publicly accessible platform like the Internet" as cited on CitimediaLaw.org.
So feel free to shoot us your pics outside the poll center and enjoying your post-vote coffee, just not of anything concerning your private ballots.
