Are Ballot Selfies Legal? That Depends on Where You Live.

Your hair might look perfect. You might feel the spirit of democracy coursing through your veins. But you should still think twice before posting a selfie with your completed ballot on or before Election Day.

Ballot selfies are against the law in 13 states, according to a recent report from the nonprofit organization Lawyers for Good Government. Among the states with a ban is New York, whose attorney general, Letitia James, reminded voters last week to keep their marked ballots to themselves.

Seven states allow selfies with mail-in ballots, but not at polling locations, and nine have laws that are unclear, the report said.

Why can’t we all just smile for the camera, the way voters in Alabama, California and 23 other states can without issue? The answer has its roots in longstanding debates over the sanctity of the voting booth and the protection of political speech.

“For some folks it may seem really stupid, like, I just want to take a selfie,” said Anthony Michael Kreis,aconstitutional law professor at Georgia State University. “But it is a serious issue.”

State laws intended to protect privacy in the voting booth date to the late 19th century, when secret ballots were introduced with the goal of preventing vote buying and voter coercion. In the mid-2010s, those laws collided with the smartphone era.