N.J. may end ban on voting booth selfies

 Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (Phil Gregory/WHYY)

Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (Phil Gregory/WHYY)

In New Jersey, it’s illegal to take photos of your ballot in a voting booth and share it on social media. The state Assembly has passed a bill that would end that ban.

Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, the primary sponsor of the bill (A-4188), believes that ‘selfies’ in polling places should be allowed.

“Particularly these days when social media is the most accessible place for people to exercise their freedom of speech, we should be encouraging millennials to tout their political preferences or to display their pride in voting.”

Mukherji said there’s no evidence the photos encourage vote buying or voter coercion.

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“If people are participating in our democracy and in the political process by voting and they want to brag about it, and hopefully that has the effect of encouraging others to vote because voter turnout is much lower than it should be, then we should be encouraging that.”

The state Senate has not acted on the legislation.

What your state says about selfies in the voting booth

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