Federal Judge Says North Carolina Ban on Ballot Booth Selfies Is Legal

A federal judge says that a North Carolina ban on people taking photos of themselves with their ballot in the voting booth is legal does not violate the First Amendment rights of voters in that state.So-called ballot selfies are legal in 31 states, but they are against the law in North Carolina.A former chairwoman of the state Libertarian party, Susan Jane Hogarth, posted a photo of herself on X with her completed ballot during a primary election in March 2024. She captioned the post with “Laws against #ballotselfie are bull—-” and tagged the 2024 Libertarian presidential candidate, Chase Oliver, and Mike Ross, the Libertarian gubernatorial candidate. Ms. Hogarth’s selfie also captured a sign in the voting booth prohibiting photography.The North Carolina State Board of Elections sent a letter a week later to Ms. Hogarth warning her that the image was a Class 1 misdemeanor in the state. “The purpose of this letter is to explain the law and request that you take the post down,” an investigator with the state’s board of elections, Danielle Brinton, said.Ms. Hogarth refused to take the image down and filed suit, claiming her First Amendment rights were being violated. Her lawsuit claimed she has taken and shared ballot selfies in past elections and uses them to promote her preferred candidates. Ms. Hogarth said she also likes to show voters that they can vote for third-party candidates and encourages other people to vote.The elections board claimed the ballot photography bans are in place to help prevent vote-buying schemes. Ms. Hogarth’s suit stated that she was running for state senate that year and planned to take a selfie of herself with her completed ballot showing that she voted for herself.“It is irrational to suggest that she could be bribed to vote for herself,” the lawsuit stated.The suit asked that ballot selfies be declared protected expression under the First Amendment and that Ms. Hogarth’s posted image is a protected expression. The suit also asked for preliminary and permanent injunctions blocking enforcement of the ballot photography bans.A federal judge, Judge Louise Flanagan, however, rejected Ms. Hogarth’s argument that the First Amendment covers ballot photos in a judgement issued Monday. Judge Flanagan also ordered the case closed.Emails for comment from Ms. Hogarth and her lawyer were not immediately returned.

Federal Judge Says North Carolina Ban on Ballot Booth Selfies Is Legal

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