Legalize Selfies!

A New Hampshire man who in 2014 cast a vote for his recently-deceased dog, then posted a picture of his ballot on social media, has brought to light an issue that is sure to come up in November – the ballot selfie. In 25 states it is illegal to take a photo with a ballot, measures intended to combat voter fraud. But some voters are fighting back, saying the laws violate freedom of expression. Judges in Indiana and Arizona have struck down such bans, noting that evidence for voter fraud is scant, and certainly not prevalent enough to merit infringing on voter rights. “New Hampshire and 24 other states seek to suppress a mode of communication beloved by young voters with no justification other than abstract concerns over a phantom threat,” writes Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern in an opinion piece. “The ballot selfie may be emphatically modern but ballot selfie bans look a lot like old-fashioned censorship.” And, he notes, nothing short of a government crackdown could come close to reversing the selfie trend.