Credit: Photo via Instagram
Tuesday was election day: Many Ohioans came out and exercised their right to vote.

And many of those voters took selfies while doing so.

Why not document the experience, and encourage others to vote through an inspirational pic of yourself in the booth, right?

According to News Channel 5, the selfie trend may end up getting a lot of Americans in trouble on election day, since documenting what goes on in the voting booth is illegal in many states.

In Ohio, it’s illegal to “exhibit a photo of any ticket or ballot which the elector intends to cast,” but it is unclear if this law would be applied only before a ballot is cast.

At the same time, Ohio law does permit the use of smartphones and tablets in polling places so that voters can research the issues and candidates and make informed decisions.

Alas, the conundrum of the selfie continues: to take or not to take the election day selfie? 

We’d recommend waiting until you’re a safe distance away from the polls before snapping a quick pic.

This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2013.

Cecily Rus joined Scene as a blogging intern in September 2013. She is a recent graduate of Colgate University, where she majored in English/Creative Writing. She has previously interned at Scene Magazine in Boston. Her interests include traveling, cheeseburgers and Game of Thrones. Cecily is a Lakewood native and an aspiring editor.

One reply on “Election Day Selfies Are Illegal in Ohio”

  1. See, the reason why this is illegal is because someone might take a picture of the screen and send it to their friends, letting them know what questions they will be asked beforehand! This is obviously cheating, because no one is allowed to know what you’re going to have to vote on before you get in the booth and see it for yourself.

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