Allows voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media.
Summary
S09801 would amend New York’s Election Law to expressly allow a voter, while in a privacy booth, to take photographs of themselves and their own ballot or absentee ballot. It would also permit the voter to share those photographs through social media, broadly defined to include online communities, text messages, and electronic image transmission. The bill is framed as a voter-expression measure and would make it clear that photographing one’s own ballot in the voting context is permitted.
The bill also creates a new misdemeanor offense for anyone who interferes with a voter’s ability to take such a photograph. In addition, it revises existing election-law provisions that prohibit showing or marking a ballot to identify how it was voted, carving out an exception for conduct allowed under the new photography provision. The measure would take effect immediately upon enactment.
Impact
This bill would modify sections 8-300 and 17-130 of the Election Law, creating an explicit statutory right for voters to photograph themselves and their ballots in a privacy booth and to disseminate those images electronically. It would also narrow existing ballot-secrecy and anti-identification rules by adding an exception for the newly authorized photography activity, while preserving prohibitions on other forms of ballot disclosure or identifying marks. Election officials, poll workers, and voters would be directly affected by the new permissions and the misdemeanor penalty for interference.
Sentiment
No committee transcript or vote record is available, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to assess. Based on the bill text and sponsor framing, the measure appears intended to expand voter autonomy and modernize election-related expression, rather than to restrict voting access. The absence of recorded opposition or support in the provided materials means the overall political reception cannot be determined from this record.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the balance between voter expression and ballot secrecy. Supporters would likely view the bill as allowing harmless self-documentation and social-media sharing, while critics may worry that ballot photographs could invite coercion, vote-buying, intimidation, or pressure to prove how someone voted. Another possible issue is enforcement: the bill criminalizes interference with a voter’s photography, which could raise questions for poll workers and election administrators about what conduct constitutes interference and how to reconcile the new right with existing anti-identification rules.
Same As
Allows voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media.
Allows voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media.
Allows voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media.
Allows voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media.
Allows voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media.
Elections; voter identification containing photograph required; who may register up to and including the day of the election; absentee ballot application requirements; absentee voting in person availability; return of absentee ballots.