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Bill Would Ban Election Day Photos Of Ballots On Social Media

Roland Tanglao
/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/

A 99-page clarification of Indiana voting laws could attempt to make it illegal to share a photo of your ballot on Election Day via social media.

The Senate approved the bill last week.

Avon Republican Senator Pete Miller says the goal is to deter campaigns from trying to buy votes and asking voters to post a photo of their ballot as proof they kept their end of the bargain.

"But what if the machine is malfunctioning and you want to demonstrate that to the precinct officials? That would be the one exception," says Miller. "You would be allowed to take a picture then, but that's the only case. We don't want to affect the sanctity of the ballot box."

Miller says other provisions give voters more freedom on what they can do in the voting booth.

He says talking on a cell phone is allowed as long as it isn’t bothering others, and voters can bring in a cheat sheet of how they want to vote.

Miller says those actions are not illegal now, but some precincts have taken a strict view and banned them as violations of the law prohibiting electioneering within the polling place.

The bill is headed to the House Elections Committee for consideration.