A selfie is a self-portrait photograph,
typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone and shared on
social media. When this photo is of their marked election ballot it is illegal.
According to Brian McNiff, spokesman for Secretary of the
Commonwealth William Galvin, Chapter 56, section 25 of
Massachusetts General Law forbids sharing a marked ballot to social media
where others can see it.
“Whoever, at a primary,
caucus or election, places any distinguishing mark upon his ballot, or makes a
false statement as to his ability to mark his ballot, or allows the marking of
his ballot to be seen by any person for any purpose not authorized by law…shall
be punished... “
The ballot
selfie ban isn’t a statement on the dubious quality of those photos, but as a
way of stopping people from selling their ballot. By not allowing voters a way to proved who
they voted for with a picture, the law’s reasoning goes, there will be fewer
instances of vote-buying, as stated by Eric Levenon, Boston.com.
