Voters in New Hampshire now have the right to take selfies while at the ballot box, after a U.S. federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that declared the ban unconstitutional.
A 2014 state law prohibited voters from posting online photos of their ballots, which became popular for people to show their support for a candidate. Officials feared the social media snaps would lead to vote buying, Reuters reports.
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Posting such voting pics online could have netted a $1,000 fine. There are similar laws in 26 states, NBC reports.
The rules are clear in Canada: no selfies at the ballot box.
During last fall’s federal election, voting selfies took over social media feeds. However, Canadians were told to take the snaps “outside the polling place.”
Elections Canada said on its website at the time that while cellphones are permitted at polling stations, voters may not use their phones to: “be disruptive, take photos, make an audio or video recording, jeopardize the secrecy of the vote or the privacy of voters.”
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Taking photos of a marked ballot to display online was also a firm no.
“If people were allowed to show how they voted, it could lead to coercion (being forced to vote a certain way) or vote buying,” Elections Canada said on its website.
Elections Canada has proposed sweeping changes to the way we vote, but there was no mention of a change of heart when it comes to voting selfies.
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Global News reached out to Elections Canada for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
-With files from Andrew Russell
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